


reading the last olympian

by theworldmayneverknow



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Book 5: The Last Olympian (Percy Jackson), Characters read Percy Jackson, Explicit Language, F/M, Reading the Last Olympian
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-06
Updated: 2021-03-11
Packaged: 2021-03-19 04:36:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 25,328
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29869254
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theworldmayneverknow/pseuds/theworldmayneverknow
Summary: BasicallyAll sorts of Percy Jackson characters read The Last Olympian.Enjoy :)DISCLAIMER: all rights go to the king himself, Rick Riordan
Relationships: Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson
Comments: 21
Kudos: 38
Collections: Percy Jackson





	1. heyyyyyy.....how ya'll doinnnnn

**Author's Note:**

> Hey ya'll  
> So I've been looking for a completed fanfic just like this but I can't find one  
> Until I said fuck it and decided to write my own  
> Without further a-due..... the last olympian

June 17th

The year Thalia Grace got turned into a tree

**3rd person Pov.**

The gods were sitting in the throne room minding their own business.

Aphrodite was thinking about which mortal she should mess with next.

Athena and Poseidon, surprisingly, weren’t arguing.

Zeus was sulking on the corner thinking about his, newly formed pine tree, daughter.

The other Gods were either reading or talking about their children.

Suddenly there was a blinding flash and a note along with a large group of people on the floor of their throne room.

Zeus looked down at the teenagers and yelled “WHO COMES HERE UNANNOUNCED!!?”

A girl, maybe about 16, with blonde hair stepped forward with a note in her hand. She turned toward to the King of the Gods and bowed her head and everyone followed her lead.

“Lord Zeus, We are demigods from camp half-blood, I just now read this note that appeared in my hand and it says that the fates have sent us back in time to read this book about a war in the point of view of Percy Jackson.” The girl said and flinched at the name she just said.

“Well since it’s the fates please state ur name and ur godly parent so we all know who you are.”

“Lord, the note said to bring all the Olympians here and Artemis’s lieutenant along with Amphitrite, Triton, Persephone. It also said more will come later, whatever that means. It also says time is frozen and you can’t kill us.”

“Humph- ok very well, if the fates said so,” with the wave of his hand all the people mention appeared and were informed of the situation.

Each person stepped up one at a time.

“Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena”, the girl that read the note said. Athena gave her daughter an approving look.

“Grover Underwood, Satyr”, said a boy with a Rasta cap and a goatee.

Zeus almost screamed when he heard that name, “UR THE SATYR THAT GOT MY DAUGHTER KILLED!!” He was about to blast the poor goat but a voice from the crowd caught him off guard, mainly because it was the voice of his daughter.....dead daughter, Thalia Grace. “DAD DON’T!”

“Thalia....” Zeus said in a small voice and shrunk down to human size and walked towards his daughter hesitantly and with a confused look.

“But you’re a- a, a tree, how, what, who, where???” He said and he reached his hand to touch his daughter face, she looked so much different. Her hair was shorter and messier, her skin seemed to glow with a blue aura. She was taller, more mature, maybe that was due to the time travel but she looked different. She had on a death to Barbie shirt with a He finally noticed the tiara on her head and wondered what it was.

She gave a light hearted laugh and said “I’m fine dad, it's a long story..... but i'm fine." Zeus squinted at his daughter, clearly with so many questions on his mind. He chose to let it go for now.

He smiled brightly while Hera looked a bit annoyed but kept quiet but Artemis spoke up. “You’re wearing the tiara of my lieutenant of the hunt, but Zöe is my lieutenant, unless.....”She trailed off, looking at Zöe with sadness,

Thalia looked her way and her smile wavered “Zöe, she passed on, I’m sorry My Lady, I am trying my best to live up to her legacy.” She bowed her head at the Goddess who had tears in her eyes but still managed to smile at her. “I’m sure you will, Thalia.”

Zöe smiled at Thalia knowing what her future will be and not worrying since she knows she will make it to Elysium,

Thalia looked at the rest of the demigods, “Sooo now that my situation is outta the way, who’s next?”

At that statement two boys with elvish features and curly brown hair looked up and smiled mischievously.

“We’re Conner”

“And Travis”

“Stoll, sons of Hermes.”

Saying that last part together.

Hermes looked up and smiled at his sons who have grown so much.

“Katie Gardner, daughter of Demeter.” A girl maybe the same age as the rest smiled at her mom, she had the same hair and eyes as her and wore a bright yellow sundress and a flower circular crown on her head.

“Clarisse La Rue, daughter of Ares.” She has stringy brown hair with a red bandana on top and a black tank top with army pants and a spear on her back and two knives on her side. Ares grunted at his daughter and gave her a small smile.

“Chris Rodriguez, son of Hermes.” A boy said who had the same elfish features as his brothers and dad, he had his arm around Clarisse. Hermes smiled at his son.

“Will Solace, son of Apollo.” Said a boy with blonde hair and white teeth. His dad smiled at him and have him an wave, which he returned.

“Piper McLean, daughter of Aphrodite.” A girl with choppy brown hair with a feather woven in said. “Ahhh finally at least one of my daughters is here” Aphrodite said while smiling at her daughter.

“Leo “Flaming” Valdez, son of the awesome Hephaestus.” A short scrawny boy said with a yellow tool belt on his waist and a shirt that said ‘Hot stuff’ on it. Hephaestus gave Leo a smile.

“Jason Grace, son of....Jupiter.” The blonde tall boy with sky blue eyes said, he faltered slightly at the Jupiter part, afraid of causing an uproar.

“So it seems the Greeks know about Romans, well it was a long time coming.” Athena said with an exasperated sigh. Hera looked at Jason and then at Zeus and back at Jason and finally said, “You had another kid with the same woman in a different godly form, seriously!!” She grumbled but Zeus shushed her.

“Nico Di Angelo, Son of Hades.” A skinny kid with pale skin and black hair and a skull ring and a black shirt with an aviator jacket on top said, but before anyone could comment on his parent he continued. “Yes I’m the same Nico who you put with Bianca in the Lotus Casino and No, Hades didn’t break the oath, I was born before the oath was made, I was just in a safe place.” Nico blurted our before Hades, Zeus, or Poseidon could say anything. Hades gave a questioning look at his son that Nico seemed to understand and he shook his head no and Hades slumped in his chair. Persephonelooked a little upset at her husband having an affair but decided against saying something.

The last girl finally stepped up.

“Rachel Dare, Oracle of Delphi.” A girl with fiery red hair and freckles said, she was wearing jeans with paint marks all over them and a green shirt on top. Apollo pumped his fist in the air and said “I get another Oracle, yayyyy!” Hades looked at Rachel questionably but soon realized how she became the Oracle, his son was finally accepted.

“Is that all?” Zeus thundered”

Before anyone could respond another light came in and another group of demigods came in, much smaller than the first group. Zeus informed the new group what was going on. One of them laughed and said “I get no fucking break.” The boy emerged from the center of the new group and the Camp half blood members gasped.

Annabeth rushes forward and the boy did at the same time and they hugged each other and when they pulled away they kissed, for a long enough time to make it uncomfortable for the others in the room. Once they pulled back from each other the boy started to say something but the girl Judo flipped him and started yelling at him, all he did was laugh in response. Once the boy got up Zeus asked them to state their name and their godly parent.

The boy that kissed Annabeth stepped forward and said “Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon.” The boy had raven black wind swept hair and sea green eyes and a muscular lean build. He wore a purple toga just like one of the girls in the new group, Jason looked at it suspiciously. Persephone and Triton glared at Percy but kept quiet. Athena didn’t realize her daughter was with the sea spawn quite yet. The rest of the demigods swarmed around him and gave him hugs and high fives when Percy saw Nico he have him a little glare but it soon went away. Zeus however wasn’t too happy to see Poseidon’s kid, since he seemed to have broken the oath.

“POSEIDON YOU BROKE THE OATH!!!” Zeus yelled but before Poseidon could respond Percy spoke up and said “You did first so fuck off.” 

Annabeth the others who knew person had small smirks on their faces. The others looked horrified 

“i-" Zeus started to stutter, but when he saw the other gods beginning to laugh he grey really mad, really quick, "HOW DARE YOU SPEAK TO THE KING OF THE GODS LIKE THAT!!!!”

“I mean you broke the oath first so don’t get mad at my dad.”

“YOU LITTLE SHIT!”

“Uncle, calm down, you can’t kill me so give up.”

Zeus was about to strike the son of the sea god but decided against it since it was useless, he grumbles and sat back down in his seat.

“Percy, you’ve been here for less than 10 minutes and you managed to piss of the king of the gods,” Travis said in amazement.

“it’s a gift.” Percy responded with a laugh.

The rest of the demigods continued with their names.

“Hazel Levesque, daughter of Pluto.” Am African American girl said with curly hair and a small figure.

“HADES YOU BROKE THE OATH!” Zeus said, Poseidon didn’t seem to care he was still smiling at his son.

“Nope” Hades said popping the ‘p’. “She was born before also, she died a while ago though, how-?” He was cut off by Nico stepping up sheepishly.

“I may have brought her back to life when I found her in the underworld.”

The gods and demigods looked at each other and Zeus looked like he was about to say something but let it go however Persephone didn’t mind speaking up.

“Humph- another one, seriously.” Persephone grumbled and Hades took her hand giving her a small smile.

“I told you to just come back with me but you _had_ to eat the Pomegranate.” Demeter said looking at Hades disapprovingly.

“Ugh Motherrrrrr.” Her daughter responded.

The rest of the demigods continued.

“Frank Zhang, son of Mars.” A tall, buff, Asian boy said with a boy and arrow on his back along with a spear. Ares form flickered but beamed at his son.

“Reyna, daughter of Bellona.” The didn’t say her last name but no one commented about it. She had on a purple toga and her black hair was braided on one side of her head. She glanced over at Jason

“Octavian, Arguer, legacy of Apollo.” A skinny boy with blonde hair said.

Rachel scoffed at the legacy and he gave her a once over, “what’s your problem?” He said at her.

“Nothing” she said but she wanted to say something but let it go.

Jason walked over to the Romans and each giving him a hug, except Octavian. Reyna smiled at her former Praetor. Piper eyed her but didn’t do anything. “Ahhh Jason, our former Praetor,good to see you”

Said boy raised his eyebrows at the Praetor part. “Former?” He asked.

Percy stepped up and said “sorry man, didn’t mean to take your spot.” Jason looked at Percy and a flash of jealousy passed over him but it was soon gone and a smile played on the son of Jupiter’s lips.

“Naw it’s all good.” Jason said.

Nico stepped up to Percy and wanted to clear the air. “Hey, Percy, sorry I didn’t tell you who I was, I didn’t wanna confuse you since you didn’t remember me and I figured there was a reason you were there.” Percy looked at the son of Hades and smiled and said, “it’s all good Neeks, just don’t do it again.” He gave him a huge hug after and Nico was caught off guard but returned it to him and once they separated a small blush was on Nicos’ cheeks.

“Sooo, hopefully that’s everyone and we can get on with the book, it’s called-“ Zeus was caught off by another bright light and another note. 

The new group of people were informed of what’s going on and they read the note, which said this was the last group. Zeus asked them to state their name and parent.

3 boys in togas stepped up and said

“Hercules, son of Zeus.”

“Perseus, son of Zeus.”

“Theseus, son of Poseidon.”

The rest of the people in the room looked surprised but suspected they were from the past.

A woman, who was maybe in her 40s or so with brown hair and soft features looked up at the king of the gods and said her name,

“Sally Jackson, I’m not a demigod but I’m the mother of Percy Jackson.” She smiled at her son and he crushed her and the man next to her in a bear hug. “I missed you guys so much” Percy said and kissed his mom on the cheek. Poseidon was smiling at the woman and they made eye contact and she blushed but Paul didn’t notice. Amphitrite, however, did and glared at the woman and slumped in her chair.

The man next to Sally said his name was Paul, Sally’s husband. He gave a nervous look at Poseidon but soon looked away, Poseidon didn’t notice but he glanced over at Paul, giving him a once over.

The last man was a centaur and everyone recognized him as Chiron. He gave Percy a pat on the shoulder and said it was good to see him and he smiled at Hercules who grumbled how he didn’t get as much as a welcome as Poseidon’s kid.

Hera made couches and chairs appear and Zeus finally spoke

“Since the fates said this is the last group we will begin, the book is called Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Last Olympian.”

Percy groaned at the title and said “is it in my point of view?” He looked worried and Zeus nodded and he grounded even more.

“It’s set during the second Titan war on the Greek side” Zeus said and everyone looked grim and excited, grim because of what happened during the war, excited to learn what happened and Percy’s thoughts.

Zeus handed Annabeth the book who said she wanted to read first and she said “Here we go, **Chapter 1: I Go Cruising With Explosives”**

* * *


	2. chapter 1: i go cruising with explosives

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 1 of the Last Olympian  
> Enjoy :))))

The gods, demigods, humans, oracles, and satyrs all sat comfortably 

However, a few, had worried looks on their faces.

"Okay, i'll start" Annabeth spoke **"Chapter 1: I Go Cruising With Explosives"**

**The end of the world started when a pegasus landed on the hood of my car. Up until then, I was having a great afternoon. Technically I wasn't supposed to be driving because I wouldn't turn sixteen for another week, but my mom and my stepdad, Paul, took my friend Rachel and me to this private stretch of beach on the South Shore, and Paul let us borrow his Prius for a short spin. Now, I know you're thinking, Wow, that was really irresponsible of him, blah, blah, blah, but Paul knows me pretty well. He's seen me slice up demons and leap out of exploding school buildings,**

"okay back up" Reyna said. "Exploding school buildings? Slice up demons?......what have you greeks been up to"

With that thought Percy smiled at her and said "just the usual" and sent her a wink, at witch she blushed.

Annabeth continued 

**so he probably figured taking a car a few hundred yards wasn't exactly the most dangerous thing I'd ever done. Anyway, Rachel and I were driving along. It was a hot August day. Rachel's red hair was pulled back in a ponytail and she wore a white blouse over her swimsuit. I'd never seen her in anything but ratty t-shirts and paint-splattered jeans before, and she looked like a million golden drachmas.**

Annabeth stopped and the room went silent but Rachel smiled and blushed, she knew Annabeth and Percy loved each, but she could see some jealousy in the blonde's eyes that disappeared as soon as it came.

"YOOOOO!! BUSTED!" Travis Stoll shouted and earned a smack on the head from Katie. 

Annabeth only rolled her eyes and looked up at Percy who was sweating and smiling nervously. His reaction satisfied her so she chose to keep reading but she will have to bring this up later. _Hey_ , the daughter of Athena though, _gotta keep your boyfriend on his toes._

**"Oh, pull up right there!" she told me. We parked on a ridge overlooking the Atlantic. The sea is always one of my favorite places, but today it was especially nice—glittery green and smooth as glass, as though my dad was keeping it calm just for us. My dad, by the way, is Poseidon. He can do stuff like that. "So." Rachel smiled at me. "About that invitation." "Oh . . . right." I tried to sound excited.**

"Didn't work" The red head stated

**I mean, she'd asked me to her family's vacation house on St. Thomas for three days. I didn't get a lot of offers like that. My family's idea of a fancy vacation was a weekend in a rundown cabin on Long Island with some movie rentals and a couple of frozen pizzas, and here Rachel's folks were willing to let me tag along to the Caribbean. Besides, I seriously needed a vacation. This summer had been the hardest of my life. The idea of taking a break even for a few days was really tempting.**

"Damn you shoulda went" Leo said "sounds really nice I wouldn't wanna miss that"

"Yeah I know but the war......" Percy let that statement hang and Leo looked confused but shut up really quick at seeing the demigods saddened faces.

**Still, something big was supposed to go down any day now. I was "on call" for a mission. Even worse, next week was my birthday. There was this prophecy that said when I turned sixteen, bad things would happen. "Percy," she said, "I know the timing is bad. But it's always bad for you, right?" She had a point. "I really want to go," I promised. "It's just—" "The war.” I nodded. I didn't like talking about it, but Rachel knew. Unlike most mortals, she could see through the Mist—the magic veil that distorts human vision. She'd seen monsters. She'd met some of the other demigods who were fighting the Titans and their allies. She'd even been there last summer when the chopped-up Lord Kronos rose out of his coffin in a terrible new form, and she'd earned my permanent respect by nailing him in the eye with a blue plastic hairbrush.**

"woahhhhh, badass alert" Connor Stoll said and they all just looked at Rachel impressed and Chris even gave her a high-five 

**She put her hand on my arm. "Just think about it, okay? We don't leave for a couple of days. My dad . . ." Her voice faltered. "Is he giving you a hard time?" I asked. Rachel shook her head in disgust. "He's trying to be nice to me, which is almost worse. He wants me to go to Clarion Ladies Academy m the fall." "The school where your mom went?" "It's a stupid finishing school for society girls, all the way in New Hampshire. Can you see me in finishing school?" I admitted the idea sounded pretty dumb.**

"Surprisingly, it wasn't as bad as I thought, some of the girls were worse then I am" Rachel laughed, now in her junior year 

**Rachel was into urban art projects and feeding the homeless and going to protest rallies to "Save the Endangered Yellow-bellied Sapsucker" and stuff like that.**

"Sapsucker??" Hercules asked and to which Rachel immediately pulled out her phone and started going into the details about the organization. Soon to be cut off by Annabeth 's reading

**I'd never even seen her wear a dress. It was hard to imagine her learning to be a socialite. She sighed. "He thinks if he does a bunch of nice stuff for me, I'll feel guilty and give in." "Which is why he agreed to let me come with you guys on vacation?" "Yes . . . but Percy, you'd be doing me a huge favor. It would be so much better if you were with us. Besides, there's something I want to talk—" She stopped abruptly. "Something you want to talk about?" I asked. "You mean . . . so serious we'd have to go to St. Thomas to talk about it?" She pursed her lips. "Look, just forget it for now. Let's pretend we're a couple of normal people. We're out for a drive, and we're watching the ocean, and it's nice to be together." I could tell something was bothering her, but she put on a brave smile. The sunlight made her hair look like fire. We'd spent a lot of time together this summer. I hadn't exactly planned it that way, but the more serious things got at camp, the more I found myself needing to call up Rachel and get away, just for some breathing room. I needed to remind myself that the mortal world was still out there, away from all the monsters using me as their personal punching bag. "Okay," I said. "Just a normal afternoon and two normal people." She nodded. "And so . . . hypothetically, if these two people liked each other, what would it take to get the stupid guy to kiss the girl, huh?"**

Annabeth's eyes widened and she looked up at Rachel, the jealousy was now very clear, "You. Did. Not" Rachel only laughed at that comment but looked away nervously. 

**"Oh . . ." I felt like one of Apollo's sacred cows—slow, dumb, and bright red. "Um . . ." I can't pretend I hadn't thought about Rachel. She was so much easier to be around than . . . well, than some other girls I knew.**

"See Annie, you playing hard to get made Percy think you weren't interested" Thalia said with a smirk on her face. "Oh shut up, maybe if he didn't flirt with every girl he saw then I would have been more open" 

Percy laughed but soon started to argue back "hey-wait, I don't flirt wi-"

"Rachel, Calypso, and I SAW the way you looked at Zoë, even thalia, what abou-" Annabeth went on and on until Percy stopped her

"okay..okay... I get it" But Zoë Nightshade looked at the hero in disgust but a little curiosity. 

**I didn't have to work hard, or watch what I said, or rack my brain trying to figure out what she was thinking. Rachel didn't hide much. She let you know how she felt. I'm not sure what I would have done next—but I was so distracted, I didn't notice the huge black form swooping down from the sky until four hooves landed on the hood of the Prius with a WUMP-WUMPCRUNCH! Hey, boss, a voice said in my head. Nice car! Blackjack the pegasus was an old friend of mine, so I tried not to get too annoyed by the craters he'd just put in the hood;**

"back the fuck up" Octavian said "so why do the greeks get pegasus but we get fat fawns?"

Everyone from camp half-blood rolled their eyes and Clarisse spoke up "well we all die before we get to the ripe old age of 18, don't you all have kids?" At that comment every one of the Romans looked surprised at how little their life span was. Some of the Gods even felt uncomfortable knowing that they didn't do anything to protect their kids.

Annabeth was going to ask questions about how they all lived so long but she chose to continue reading instead. 

**but I didn't think my stepdad would be real stoked.**

"oh trust me, I wasn't, but if you have to save the world, then i guess it's an exception" Paul's comment made everyone laugh and Sally just smiled at her son, a little worried for what will happen but she knew he came out safe and sound, or as safe and sound as a demigod can be. 

**"Blackjack," I sighed. "What are you—" Then I saw who was riding on his back, and I knew my day was about to get a lot more complicated. " 'Sup, Percy." Charles Beckendorf, senior counselor for the Hephaestus cabin, would make most monsters cry for their mommies.**

"OH MY GOD" Leo said, "This is THE Charles Beckendorf" he smiled so brightly a little drool came out. "I finally get to hear about him, but didn't he-" he quickly shut up at looking at all the demigods sad faces. _Oh_ Leo thought, _I need to know when to shut up._

Hephaestus already could tell from the demigods faces what had happened to his son. and chose not to speek.

**He was huge, with ripped muscles from working on the forges every summer, two years older than me, and one of the camp's best armor smiths. He made some seriously ingenious mechanical stuff. A month before, he'd rigged a Greek firebomb in the bathroom of a tour bus that was carrying a bunch of monsters across country. The explosion took out a whole legion of Kronos's evil meanies as soon as the first harpy went flush.**

"All these new technologies and ways to kill monsters, someone must teach me" Theseus said, specifically looking at his half brother. Percy sent him a silent nob with a thumbs up 

**Beckendorf was dressed for combat. He wore a bronze breastplate and war helm with black camo pants and a sword strapped to his side. His explosives bag was slung over his shoulder. "Time?" I asked. He nodded grimly. A clump formed in my throat. I'd known this was coming. We'd been planning for it for weeks, but I'd half hoped it would never happen. Rachel looked up at Beckendorf. "Hi." "Oh, hey. I'm Beckendorf. You must be Rachel. Percy's told me . . . uh, I mean he mentioned you."**

"Bustedddddd" Thalia said, showing Percy's shoulder a bit. 

**Rachel raised an eyebrow. "Really? Good." She glanced at Blackjack, who was clopping his hooves against the hood of the Prius. "So I guess you guys have to go save the world now." "Pretty much," Beckendorf agreed I looked at Rachel helplessly. "Would you tell my mom—" "I'll tell her. I'm sure she's used to it. And I'll explain to Paul about the hood." I nodded my thanks. I figured this might be the last time Paul loaned me his car. "Good luck." Rachel kissed me before I could even react.**

Annabeth went silent, looked up at Rachel with murderous eyes and then, when everyone thought she was gonna kill Rachel, she dropped her gaze. 

"What?" Connor asked, "you're not gonna beat her up or something?" 

"Come onnnnn, it's been ages since we've seen a chick fight, they're always the best." Travis chimed in after his brother. His comment made Thalia, Artemis, and Zoë look at him with narrowed eyes at the use of the word "chick fight" but Annabeth only looked up at them and smiled 

"It would be stupid to even care, this was before me and Percy even got together and like Thalia said, I never did a good job at showing my emotion" Everyone looked at Annabeth with wide eyes but she smirked and added "plus, i can do whatever I want with him now, a kiss is nothing." At that remark everyone blushed and filled the room with commentary 

"Ewwww"

"Get a room"

"I think I'm gonna throw up" 

Aphrodite was the only one who was truly interested in the love affairs of Percabeth, but before she could speak, Athena chimed in.

"You.... and the Sea Spawn..... are..... together...." Athena looked like she was going to explode at finally realizing the situation, one she chose to ignore until now. Annabeth only shrugged at her mother "oh you will get used to it, especially after this book." And with that comment Athena got even angrier. 

Annabeth decided this was a perfect time to keep reading before her mom's head fell off. 

**"Now, get going, half-blood. Go kill some monsters for me." My last view of her was sitting in the shotgun seat of the Prius, her arms crossed, watching as Blackjack circled higher and higher, carrying Beckendorf and me into the sky. I wondered what Rachel wanted to talk to me about, and whether I'd live long enough to find out. "So," Beckendorf said, "I'm guessing you don't want me to mention that little scene to Annabeth." "Oh, gods," I muttered. "Don't even think about it."**

Annabeth only rolled her eyes at this "well your plan failed, I found out" 

**Beckendorf chuckled, and together we soared out over the Atlantic. It was almost dark by the time we spotted our target. The Princess Andromeda glowed on the horizon—a huge cruise ship lit up yellow and white. From a distance, you'd think it was just a party ship, not the headquarters for the Titan lord. Then as you got closer, you might notice the giant figurehead—a darkhaired maiden in a Greek chiton, wrapped m chains with a look of horror on her face, as if she could smell the stench of all the monsters she was being forced to carry. Seeing the ship again twisted my gut into knots. I'd almost died twice on the Princess Andromeda.**

"Twice??" Piper said, and Percy looked at her "yeah, wasn't pleasant experience." Piper looked like she wanted to say more but Percy continued "It would be to much to explain right now, maybe later though" 

**Now it was heading straight for New York. "You know what to do?" Beckendorf yelled over the wind. I nodded. We'd done dry runs at the dockyards in New Jersey, using abandoned ships as our targets. I knew how little time we would have. But I also knew this was our best chance to end Kronos's invasion before it ever started. "Blackjack," I said, "set us down on the lowest stern deck." Gotcha, boss, he said. Man, I hate seeing that boat. Three years ago, Blackjack had been enslaved on the Princess Andromeda until he'd escaped with a little help from my friends and me. I figured he'd rather have his mane braided like My Little Pony than be back here again.**

"oh reallyyyyyy" Travis said with a smirk, glancing at Percy and Connor. "Don't even try it" Percy said with a hard look and Travis only pouted. He was about to protest when Percy added."I'll do the braiding and you bring the camera" Travis smiled went in for a high five and Percy gladly smacked it.

The girls in the room rolled their eyes at how immature boys can be, but they were all curious to see Blackjack styled like that. 

**"Don't wait for us," I told him. But, boss— "Trust me," I said. "We'll get out by ourselves." Blackjack folded his wings and plummeted toward the boat like a black comet. The wind whistled in my ears. I saw monsters patrolling the upper decks of the ship—dracaenae snake-women, hellhounds, giants, and the humanoid seal-demons known as telkhines—but we zipped by so fast, none of them raised the alarm. We shot down the stern of the boat, and Blackjack spread his wings, lightly coming to a landing on the lowest deck. I climbed off, feeling queasy. Good luck, boss, Blackjack said. Don't let 'em turn you into horse meat! With that, my old friend flew off into the night. I took my pen out of my pocket and uncapped it,**

"Pen?" Jason asked, "what do you need to write down your grocery list" Jason laughed and so did some of the others who didn't know what Riptide was.

"Actually-" Percy said while taking out his pen and uncapping it. It sprang into a 3 foot Celestial Bronze sword. "the pen is actually called Riptide or"

"Anaklusmos" Percy and Hercules said in unison. "why do you have my sword?" Hercules said with a slight angered expression. 

"No i think you're mistake, this is Zoė's sword, not yours" Percy said looking at Hercules with disgust and slightly glancing at Zoë only to find her eyebrows furrowed together in a confused expression. 

_Did I really tell him my story? What kind of demigod-_ Zoë's thoughts were cut short with a slight shake on her head, _it's in the future, it doesn't matter now_. She looked up at Percy who was smiling sheepishly at her and she found her self returning the smile. _Maybe he wasn't SO bad if I told him about Hercules_ she thought and Zoë decided she would be able to tolerate this hero. 

Hercules only scoffed and turned away with his arms crossed, Annabeth, trying to avoid ant arguing, kept reading. 

**and Riptide sprang to full size—three feet of deadly Celestial bronze glowing in the dusk. Beckendorf pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket. I thought it was a map or something. Then I realized it was a photograph. He stared at it in the dim light—the smiling face of Silena Beauregard, daughter of Aphrodite.**

Piper stared at the book and thought, _wow, this must be the Silena everyone in my cabin talks about._

Aphrodite smiled and asked "wait, how come she isn't here with the rest of you" However, once she saw everyones gloomy faces she frowned and slumped in her chair. _Oh_ she thought

**They'd started going out last summer, after years of the rest of us saying, "Duh, you guys like each other!"**

"Hmmmmmmm sounds like a couple we all know" Thalia said turning her head a full 90 degrees to stare at Percy and Annabeth who was cuddled up on the couch. Everyone snickered at her comment but Percy and Annabeth only blushed. 

**Even with all the dangerous missions, Beckendorf had been happier this summer than I'd ever seen him. "We'll make it back to camp," I promised.**

Everyone looked up at Percy, knowing he still blames himself for Beckendorf's death. Annabeth squeezed his thigh gently and whispered something in his ear that no one could hear but everyone assumed it must have been something to make him feel better because he smiled softly and kissed her forehead. 

**For a second I saw worry in his eyes. Then he put on his old confident smile. "You bet," he said. "Let's go blow Kronos back into a million pieces." Beckendorf led the way. We followed a narrow corridor to the service stairwell, just like we'd practiced, but we froze when we heard noises above us. "I don't care what your nose says!" snarled a half-human, half-dog voice—a telkhine. "The last time you smelled half-blood, it turned out to be a meat loaf sandwich!"**

"sounds like Grover and Enchiladas" Percy said and Grover only had to agree "heyyyy, they're good, fuck off" He flicked Percy off and the demigod only stuck his tongue out at him. _Oh boys_ Annabeth thought _So immature._

**"Meat loaf sandwiches are good!" a second voice snarled. "But this is half-blood scent, I swear. They are on board!" "Bah, your brain isn't on board!" They continued to argue, and Beckendorf pointed downstairs. We descended as quietly as we could. Two floors down, the voices of the telkhines started to fade. Finally we came to a metal hatch. Beckendorf mouthed the words "engine room." It was locked, but Beckendorf pulled some chain cutters out of his bag and split the bolt like it was made of butter. Inside, a row of yellow turbines the size of grain silos churned and hummed. Pressure gauges and computer terminals lined the opposite wall. A telkhine was hunched over a console, but he was so involved with his work, he didn't notice us. He was about five feet tall, with slick black seal fur and stubby little feet. He had the head of a Doberman, but his clawed hands were almost human. He growled and muttered as he tapped on his keyboard. Maybe he was messaging his friends on uglyface.com.**

"Percy your thoughts are very weird" Katie Gardner said and everyone nodded. The son of Poseidon just shrugged and said "hey, man I didn't write this okay" 

**I stepped forward, and he tensed, probably smelling something was wrong. He leaped sideways toward a big red alarm button, but I blocked his path. He hissed and lunged at me, but one slice of Riptide, and he exploded into dust.**

"So this type of metal also works" Reyna noted, thinking about how many times their supply of imperial gold has run out. 

**"One down," Beckendorf said. "About five thousand to go." He tossed me a jar of thick green liquid—Greek fire, one of the most dangerous magical substances in the world. Then he threw me another essential tool of demigod heroes—duct tape.**

"ah yes, trusty duct tape, you can always rely on it" Chris said. Percy nodded thinking about how many times duct tape has saved his ass. 

**"Slap that one on the console," he said. "I'll get the turbines." We went to work. The room was hot and humid, and in no time we were drenched m sweat. The boat kept chugging along. Being the son of Poseidon and all, I have perfect bearings at sea. Don't ask me how, but I could tell we were at 40.19° North, 71.90° West, making eighteen knots, which meant the ship would arrive in New York Harbor by dawn.**

"Woah woah woah, why don't I get that power" Perseus said looking up at Zeus while his other children nodded. "Ummmmm" Zeus responded and quickly waved his hand at Annabeth to keep going. Annabeth could tell Perseus wanted to say more but chose to not argue with the king of the gods and kept reading. 

**This would be our only chance to stop it. I had just attached a second jar of Greek fire to the control panels when I heard the pounding of feet on metal steps—so many creatures coming down the stairwell I could hear them over the engines. Not a good sign. I locked eyes with Beckendorf. "How much longer?" "Too long." He tapped his watch, which was our remote control detonator. "I still have to wire the receiver and prime the charges. Ten more minutes at least." Judging from the sound of the footsteps, we had about ten seconds. "I'll distract them," I said. "Meet you at the rendezvous point." "Percy—" "Wish me luck."**

"You always want to be the hero, even if it gets you killed, seaweed brain" Annabeth remarked and Sally and Poseidon paled at that thought. 

"Well i'm still here, wise girl, aren't I" Percy retorted but Annabeth only shoved him, but blushed slightly at the use of 'wise girl' witch she hasn't heard in a LONG time. 

**He looked like he wanted to argue. The whole idea had been to get in and out without being spotted. But we were going to have to improvise. "Good luck," he said. I charged out the door. A half dozen telkhines were tromping down the stairs. I cut through them with Riptide faster than they could yelp. I kept climbing—past another telkhine, who was so startled he dropped his Lil' Demons lunch box. I left him alive—partly because his lunch box was cool,**

"Kelp head, you fucking idiot" Thalia said but Percy waved her off. "I said PARTLY, didn't I, Pinecone face?" Thalia immediately shut up. 

**partly so he could raise the alarm and hopefully get his friends to follow me rather than head toward the engine room.**

Percy raised his eyebrows up at Thalia who was refusing to make eye contact with him. 

Jason had been silently wondering how close those two were and wondered if he and Thalia could ever be like that. 

**I burst through a door onto deck six and kept running. I'm sure the carpeted hall had once been very plush, but over the last three years of monster occupation the wallpaper, carpet, and stateroom doors had been clawed up and slimed so it looked like the inside of a dragon's throat (and yes, unfortunately, I speak from experience).**

Before anyone could speak, Percy said "you don't want to know, but I'm sure Clarisse would LOVE to tell you how I saved her ass." Clarisse blushed and only rolled her eyes "Yeah right, punk, I LET you save me, didn't feel like doing it." It was a half assed excuse, everyone knew it, even Clarisse. "Yeah, okayyyy, whatever you say, toilet breath." 

At that comment Clarisse's eyes widened and Chris, Travis, and Connor had to hold the daughter of Ares back from murdering the son of Poseidon. Ares only smiled at his daughter and thought _she takes after me._

Before world war 3 started, Annabeth continued with the book.

**Back on my first visit to the Princess Andromeda, my old enemy Luke had kept some dazed tourists on board for show, shrouded in Mist so they didn't realize they were on a monster-infested ship. Now I didn't see any sign of tourists. I hated to think what had happened to them, but I kind of doubted they'd been allowed to go home with their bingo winnings.**

The demigods all looked sad, monsters were one thing, but humans were another, they could ALL agree on that.

**I reached the promenade, a big shopping mall that took up the whole middle of the ship, and I stopped cold. In the middle of the courtyard stood a fountain. And in the fountain squatted a giant crab. I'm not talking "giant" like $7.99 all-you-can-eat Alaskan king crab. I'm talking giant like bigger than the fountain. The monster rose ten feet out of the water. Its shell was mottled blue and green, its pincers longer than my body. If you've ever seen a crab's mouth, all foamy and gross with whiskers and snapping bits, you can imagine this one didn't look any better blown up to billboard size.**

"Ew Percy, your imagery does NOT help" Hazel said and everyone agreed with her. "well I'm just trying to get everyone to see what i'm seeing and, again, I didn't write the book, cut me some slack" Percy said back at her.

**Its beady black eyes glared at me, and I could see intelligence in them—and hate. The fact that I was the son of the sea god was not going to win me any points with Mr. Crabby. "FFFFffffff," it hissed, sea foam dripping from its mouth. The smell coming off it was like a garbage can fuwll of fish sticks that had been sitting in the sun all week. Alarms blared. Soon I was going to have lots of company and I had to keep moving. "Hey, crabby." I inched around the edge of the courtyard. "I'm just gonna scoot around you so—"**

"Oh yeah, Percy, like that'll work" Thalia said and a small wave of water splashed across her face. Thalia wasn't going to just take that but for the sake of not killing her best friends boyfriend, she let it go, and settled with sticking her middle finger up at him. 

**The crab moved with amazing speed. It scuttled out of the fountain and came straight at me, pincers snapping. 1 dove into a gift shop, plowing through a rack of T-shirts. A crab pincer smashed the glass walls to pieces and raked across the room. I dashed back outside, breathing heavily, but Mr. Crabby turned and followed.**

"Mr. Crabby? Really?" Frank said, "even I could do better than that." 

"Okay woah, when did this become 'let's all shit on Percy day." 

**"There!" a voice said from a balcony above me. "Intruder!" If I'd wanted to create a distraction, I'd succeeded, but this was not where I wanted to fight. If I got pinned down in the center of the ship, I was crab chow. The demonic crustacean lunged at me. I sliced with Riptide, taking off the tip of its claw. It hissed and foamed, but didn't seem very hurt. I tried to remember anything from the old stories that might help with this thing. Annabeth had told me about a monster crab—something about Hercules crushing it under his foot?**

Hercules beamed at the mention of his name, but Annabeth continued in order to avoid any bragging from the annoying demigod. 

**That wasn't going to work here. This crab was slightly bigger than my Reeboks.**

"Yeah, no shit" Nico said, and he too was met with a wall of water across his face but chose to let it go since he should have seen it coming. 

**Then a weird thought occurred to me. Last Christmas, my mom and I had brought Paul Blofis to our old cabin at Montauk, where we'd been going forever. Paul had taken me crabbing, and when he'd brought up a net full of the things, he'd shown me how crabs have a chink in their armor, right in the middle of their ugly bellies.**

"Wow glad I could be useful to you when you fight giant crabs" Paul remarked and Percy and Sally laughed at what he said. 

Poseidon decided maybe he liked this Paul guy, if he helps his son then I guess he's okay in his book. 

**The only problem was getting to the ugly belly. I glanced at the fountain, then at the marble floor, already slick from scuttling crab tracks. I held out my hand, concentrating on the water, and the fountain exploded. Water sprayed everywhere, three stories high, dousing the balconies and the elevators and the windows of the shops. The crab didn't care. It loved water. It came at me sideways, snapping and hissing, and I ran straight at it, screaming, "AHHHHHHH!"**

"no way that worked" Piper said. Leo looked impressed and stared at Percy in awe 

"care to bet on it" Percy said and Piper shut up. 

**Just before we collided, I hit the ground baseball-style and slid on the wet marble floor straight under the creature. It was like sliding under a seven-ton armored vehicle. All the crab had to do was sit and squash me, but before it realized what was going on, I jabbed Riptide into the chink in its armor, let go of the hilt, and pushed myself out the backside. The monster shuddered and hissed. Its eyes dissolved. Its shell turned bright red as its insides evaporated. The empty shell clattered to the floor in a massive heap. I didn't have time to admire my handiwork. I ran for the nearest stairs**

"so you're just gonna leave your sword?" Octavian said but Percy smiled and chose to spoil the fun by explaining that riptide always returns back to him, no matter where it ends up.

"sharing is caring?" Jason said and Percy put Riptide back in his pocket "Not a chance" he said and Jason just laughed and looked away "worth a shot" he said. 

**while all around me monsters and demigods shouted orders and strapped on their weapons. I was empty-handed. Riptide, being magic, would appear in my pocket sooner or later, but for now it was stuck somewhere under the wreckage of the crab, and I had no time to retrieve it. In the elevator foyer on deck eight, a couple of dracaenae slithered across my path. From the waist up, they were women with green scaly skin, yellow eyes, and forked tongues. From the waist down, they had double snake trunks instead of legs. They held spears and weighted nets, and I knew from experience they could use them. "What isss thisss?" one said. "A prize for Kronosss!" I wasn't in the mood to play break-the-snake,**

"Break...the.....snake" Ares said out loud while writing the idea down on a piece of paper. Everyone gave him a weird look. "what?" he said "just writing it down so I can try it out once we're done in here." 

**but in front of me was a stand with a model of the ship, like a YOU ARE HERE display. I ripped the model off the pedestal and hurled it at the first dracaena. The boat smacked her in the face and she went down with the ship. I jumped over her, grabbed her friend's spear, and swung her around. She slammed into the elevator, and I kept running toward the front of the ship. "Get him!" she screamed. Hellhounds bayed. An arrow from somewhere whizzed past my face and impaled itself in the mahogany-paneled wall of the stairwell.**

"Percy what do you get yourself into" Sally Jackson said, giving her son a disapproving look and Percy returned back with a sheepish smile. 

**I didn't care—as long as I got the monsters away from the engine room and gave Beckendorf more time. As I was running up the stairwell, a kid charged down. He looked like he'd just woken up from a nap. His armor was half on. He drew his sword and yelled, "Kronos!" but he sounded more scared than angry. He couldn't have been more than twelve—about the same age I was when I'd first arrived at Camp HalfBlood. That thought depressed me. This kid was getting brainwashed—trained to hate the gods and lash out because he'd been born half Olympian. Kronos was using him, and yet the kid thought I was his enemy.**

"You know" Piper started to say "a lot of people wouldn't have thought of that, and probably would have killed him right then and there" Percy looked down sadly, already knowing the fate of this demigod and Piper could tell from his look what would happen to him. 

**No way was I going to hurt him. I didn't need a weapon for this. I stepped inside his strike and grabbed his wrist, slamming it against the wall. His sword clattered out of his hand. Then I did something I hadn't planned on. It was probably stupid. It definitely jeopardized our mission, but I couldn't help it.**

"Oh no" Leo said. But surprisingly Zoë spoke up, "I think what you did was the right thing." Everyone looked at her in shock and Artemis just smiled at her lieutenant's comment. She had wanted Zoë to finally trust people again and she believed the first step was Percy Jackson. 

**"If you want to live," I told him, "get off this ship now. Tell the other demigods." Then I shoved him down the stairs and sent him tumbling to the next floor. I kept climbing. Bad memories: a hallway ran past the cafeteria. Annabeth, my half brother Tyson, and I had sneaked through here three years ago on my first visit.**

Everyone who knew Tyson smiled and thought about how if he were here, he would say something silly like 'I love peanut butter.' 

Everyone who didn't know him were extremely confused, _half-brother?_ , they all thought. "He's a cyclops", Percy said, before any one could speak.

**I burst outside onto the main deck. Off the port bow, the sky was darkening from purple to black. A swimming pool glowed between two glass towers with more balconies and restaurant decks. The whole upper ship seemed eerily deserted. All I had to do was cross to the other side. Then I could take the staircase down to the helipad—our emergency rendezvous point. With any luck, Beckendorf would meet me there. We'd jump into the sea. My water powers would protect us both, and we'd detonate the charges from a quarter mile away. I was halfway across the deck when the sound of a voice made me freeze. "You're late, Percy." Luke stood on the balcony above me, a smile on his scarred face.**

At the mention of look Annabeth inhaled sharply and looked up at Thalia who had a small tear on her cheek.

_Oh no,_ Hermes thought, _my son, my poor son, what did you do?._

To stop the memories of their former friend from forming and the impending questions from the Romans, Annabeth kept reading.

**He wore jeans, a white T-shirt, and flip-flops, like he was just a normal college-age guy, but his eyes told the truth. They were solid gold. "We've been expecting you for days." At first he sounded normal, like Luke. But then his face twitched. A shudder passed through his body as though he'd just drunk something really nasty. His voice became heavier, ancient, and powerful—the voice of the Titan lord Kronos.**

"So this Luke kid, is the host for Kronos?" Reyna asked, wanted to know as much as possible about the Greek side of the war. 

"Yes" Annabeth said, not adding any more and Reyna chose not to push it, at least not yet.

**The words scraped down my spine like a knife blade. "Come, bow before me."**

"Yeah, that'll happen" Thalia scoffed and Annabeth laughed before reading the next line. 

**"Yeah, that'll happen," I muttered.**

"oh helllll no, I do NOT think like Kelp for brains over here" Thalia said, pointing at a smiling Percy. 

**Laistrygonian giants filed in on either side of the swimming pool as if they'd been waiting for a cue. Each was eight feet tall with tattooed arms, leather armor, and spiked clubs. Demigod archers appeared on the roof above Luke. Two hellhounds leaped down from the opposite balcony and snarled at me. Within seconds I was surrounded.**

"they're awfully prepared" Theseus commented and Percy only mouthed one world to him ' _spy_ '

**A trap: there's no way they could've gotten into position so fast unless they'd known I was coming. I looked up at Luke, and anger boiled inside me. I didn't know if Luke's consciousness was even still alive inside that body. Maybe, the way his voice had changed . . . or maybe it was just Kronos adapting to his new form. I told myself it didn't matter. Luke had been twisted and evil long before Kronos possessed him. A voice in my head said: I have to fight him eventually. Why not now? According to that big prophecy, I was supposed to make a choice that saved or destroyed the world when I was sixteen. That was only seven days away. Why not now? If I really had the power, what difference would a week make?**

"common, Percy, you should know it makes a huge difference" Annabeth said, raising her eyebrows at her boyfriend but continued. 

**I could end this threat right here by taking down Kronos. Hey, I'd fought monsters and gods before. As if reading my thoughts, Luke smiled. No, he was Kronos. I had to remember that. "Come forward," he said. "If you dare. The crowd of monsters parted. I moved up the stairs, my heart pounding. I was sure somebody would stab me in the back, but they let me pass. I felt my pocket and found my pen waiting. I uncapped it, and Riptide grew into a sword. Kronos's weapon appeared in his hands—a six-foot-long scythe, half Celestial bronze, half mortal steel. Just looking at the thing made my knees turn to Jell-O. But before I could change my mind, I charged. Time slowed down. I mean literally slowed down, because Kronos had that power. I felt like I was moving through syrup. My arms were so heavy, I could barely raise my sword. Kronos smiled, swirling his scythe at normal speed and waiting for me to creep toward my death. I tried to fight his magic.**

"It's pretty much useless" Zeus said "unless he want's you to fight him or you're extremely powerful, but he's weak right now his hold on you shouldn't be to strong" He continued and Percy nodded at him.

**I concentrated on the sea around me—the source of my power. I'd gotten better at channeling it over the years, but now nothing seemed to happen. I took another slow step forward. Giants jeered. Dracaenae hissed with laughter. Hey, ocean, I pleaded. Any day now would be good. Suddenly there was a wrenching pain in my gut. The entire boat lurched sideways, throwing monsters off their feet. Four thousand gallons of salt water surged out of the swimming pool, dousing me and Kronos and everyone on the deck.**

"Wow you are one lucky kid" Ares said, he knew how strong the titan was.

**The water revitalized me, breaking the time spell, and I lunged forward. I struck at Kronos, but I was still too slow. I made the mistake of looking at his face—Luke's face—a guy who was once my friend.**

"So Luke was once a demigod at camp half-blood, like all of you?" Reyna asked on disbelieve how he could betray them. 

Octavian scoffed and said "typical, sounds like the greeks, betraying one another" After he said that he received death glares from all the greek demigods. And not wanting to spoil anything Annabeth continued but still annoyed at Octavian's remark.

**As much as I hated him, it was hard to kill him. Kronos had no such hesitation. He sliced downward with his scythe. I leaped back, and the evil blade missed by an inch, cutting a gash in the deck right between my feet. I kicked Kronos in the chest. He stumbled backward, but he was heavier than Luke should've been. It was like kicking a refrigerator. Kronos swung his scythe again. I intercepted with Riptide, but his strike was so powerful, my blade could only deflect it. The edge of the scythe shaved off my shirtsleeve and grazed my arm.**

"Oh no" Athena said looking at the son of Poseidon. "One touch from Kronos's Scythe is deadly, be grateful you're alive"

At Athena's comment, Sally lost all the color in her face and turned to look at her son, _oh what did I do to you to make me worry so much,_ she thought. Paul noticed this and grabbed her and hand and gave it a light squeeze and she returned the gesture back

**It shouldn't have been a serious cut, but the entire side of my body exploded with pain. I remembered what a sea demon had once said about Kronos's scythe: Careful, fool. One touch, and the blade will sever your soul from your body. Now I understood what he meant. I wasn't just losing blood. I could feel my strength, my will, my identity draining away. I stumbled backward, switched my sword to my left hand, and lunged desperately. My blade should've run him through, but it deflected off his stomach like I was hitting solid marble.**

"Kronos doesn't have that abili-" Athena cut herself off, choosing to continue her thinking in her head rather than out loud so her daughter could keep reading.

**There was no way he should've survived that. Kronos laughed. "A poor performance, Percy Jackson. Luke tells me you were never his match at swordplay." My vision started to blur. I knew I didn't have much time. "Luke had a big head," I said. "But at least it was his head."**

"Oh wow so creative" Thalia said, earning a few snickers from the audience.

**"A shame to kill you now," Kronos mused, "before the final plan unfolds. I would love to see the terror in your eyes when you realize how I will destroy Olympus." "You'll never get this boat to Manhattan." My arm was throbbing. Black spots danced in my vision. "And why would that be?" Kronos's golden eyes glittered. His face—Luke's face—seemed like a mask, unnatural and lit from behind by some evil power. "Perhaps you are counting on your friend with the explosives?" He looked down at the pool and called, "Nakamura!" A teenage guy in full Greek armor pushed through the crowd. His left eye was covered with a black patch. I knew him, of course: Ethan Nakamura, the son of Nemesis. I'd saved his life in the Labyrinth last summer, and in return, the little punk had helped Kronos come back to life. "Success, my lord," Ethan called. "We found him just as we were told." He clapped his hands, and two giants lumbered forward, dragging Charles Beckendorf between them. My heart almost stopped. Beckendorf had a swollen eye and cuts all over his face and arms.**

The demigods who knew Charles looked down sadly and Leo only sighed, knowing this is most likely where he died.

**His armor was gone and his shirt was nearly torn off. "No!" I yelled. Beckendorf met my eyes. He glanced at his hand like he was trying to tell me something. His watch. They hadn't taken it yet, and that was the detonator. Was it possible the explosives were armed? Surely the monsters would've dismantled them right away.**

"you'd be surprised with how stupid they can me" Perseus said looking at his name sake and he just nodded in return and said "extremely stupid."

**"We found him amidships," one of the giants said, "trying to sneak to the engine room. Can we eat him now?" "Soon." Kronos scowled at Ethan. "Are you sure he didn't set the explosives?" "He was going toward the engine room, my lord." "How do you know that?" "Er . . ." Ethan shifted uncomfortably. "He was heading in that direction. And he told us. His bag is still full of explosives." Slowly, I began to understand. Beckendorf had fooled them. When he'd realized he was going to be captured, he turned to make it look like he was going the other way. He'd convinced them he hadn't made it to the engine room yet. The Greek fire might still be primed! But that didn't do us any good unless we could get off the ship and detonate it.**

"Damn, he is smart" Leo said, a little awe in his voice and Hephaestus looked at his son and wondered how much Leo would have loved Beckendorf.

**Kronos hesitated. Buy the story, I prayed.**

"Unfortunately, the monsters may be stupid, but Kronos isn't" Poseidon said, already predicting how this is going to end. 

**The pain in my arm was so bad now I could barely stand. "Open his bag," Kronos ordered. One of the giants ripped the explosives satchel from Beckendorf's shoulders. He peered inside, grunted, and turned it upside down. Panicked monsters surged backward. If the bag really had been full of Greek fire jars, we would've all blown up. But what fell out were a dozen cans of peaches. I could hear Kronos breathing, trying to control his anger. "Did you, perhaps," he said, "capture this demigod near the galley?" Ethan turned pale. "Um—" "And did you, perhaps, send someone to actually CHECK THE ENGINE ROOM?" Ethan scrambled back in terror, then turned on his heels and ran. I cursed silently. Now we had only minutes before the bombs were disarmed. I caught Beckendorf's eyes again and asked a silent question, hoping he would understand: How long? He cupped his fingers and thumb, making a circle. Zero. There was no delay on the timer at all. If he managed to press the detonator button, the ship would blow at once. We'd never be able to get far enough away before using it.**

Upon hearing those lines, everyone knew what was going to happen and a wave of sadness passed over them. But Annabeth didn't want them to be sad every time she read a new line, she quickly started reading in order to finish this chapter as soon as possible.

**The monsters would kill us first, or disarm the explosives, or both. Kronos turned toward me with a crooked smile. "You'll have to excuse my incompetent help, Percy Jackson. But it doesn't matter. We have you now. We've known you were coming for weeks." He held out his hand and dangled a little silver bracelet with a scythe charm—the Titan lord's symbol. The wound in my arm was sapping my ability to think, but I muttered, "Communication device . . . spy at camp."**

"O wow" Octavian muttered "another traitor, who would have guessed" his voice dripping with sarcasm. 

"dude, shut up" Travis said and gave him a dirty look, clearly not amused at his comment. Neither was Annabeth apparently and when Octavian started to say something she immediately talked over him.

**Kronos chuckled. "You can't count on friends. They will always let you down. Luke learned that lesson the hard way. Now drop your sword and surrender to me, or your friend dies." I swallowed. One of the giants had his hand around Beckendorf's neck. I was in no shape to rescue him, and even if I tried, he would die before I got there. We both would. Beckendorf mouthed one word: Go. I shook my head. I couldn't just leave him. The second giant was still rummaging through the peach cans, which meant Beckendorf's left arm was free. He raised it slowly—toward the watch on his right wrist. I wanted to scream, NO! Then down by the swimming pool, one of the dracaenae hissed, "What isss he doing? What isss that on hisss wrissst?" Beckendorf closed eyes tight and brought his hand up to his watch. I had no choice. I threw my sword like a javelin at Kronos. It bounced harmlessly off his chest, but it did startle him. I pushed through a crowd of monsters and jumped off the side of the ship—toward the water a hundred feet below**

All the demigods were silent, knowing what had just happened. 

Beckendorf had died, and judging the look on Percy's face, the memory mixed with the book retelling what had happened was really painful. 

Everyone wanted to move past this part but not before Percy spoke up

"He was a great guy, the glue to the camp, really" Percy said his voice had a sad tone to it and everyone, even the Romans, had felt sorry for him. He was the closet one to him out of everyone here, besides maybe Clarisse, who was too sad to speak.

"We know, Perce, he was a true hero" Chris spoke up and gestured to Annabeth to tell her to keep going.

**I heard rumbling deep in the ship. Monsters yelled at me from above. A spear sailed past my ear. An arrow pierced my thigh, but I barely had time to register the pain. I plunged into the sea and willed the currents to take me far, far away—a hundred yards, two hundred yards. Even from that distance, the explosion shook the world. Heat seared the back of my head. The Princess Andromeda blew up from both sides, a massive fireball of green flame roiling into the dark sky, consuming everything. Beckendorf, I thought. Then I blacked out and sank like an anchor toward the bottom of the sea.**

"okay, that's chapter one" Annabeth said "who wants to read chapter two?" 

"I will" Rachel said, standing from her seat and grabbing the book from Annabeth

**"Chapter 2: I Meet Some Fishy Relatives"**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay to clarify:  
> \- i'll probably upload once every 1-3 days depending on how busy I am (school is KICKING my ass)  
> \- the character are from AFTER the son of Neptune but BEFORE the mark of Athena


	3. chapter 2: i meet some fishy relatives

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reading chapter 2 of the last olympian  
> Enjoy :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any feedback?   
> I'm not trying to make the characters to OC but I might just a bit for comedic purposes  
> Plus, we all know they swear on a secondly basis

"Okay, I'll read the second chapter" Rachel said while grabbing the book from Annabeth and plopping ( _ **AN: plopping is such a funny word LMAO**_ ) herself down on the couch right by Katie and the stolls.

 **"Chapter 2: I Meet Some Fishy Relatives** " Rachel started.

**Demigod dreams suck.**

Everyone groaned.

"I would sell my first born at a chance to never experience them again" Percy said while rubbing his forehead at the memory.

Everyone agreed.

**The thing is, they're never just dreams. They've got to be visions, omens, and all that other mystical stuff that makes my brain hurt. I dreamed I was in a dark palace at the top of a mountain. Unfortunately, I recognized it: the palace of the Titans on top of Mount Othrys, otherwise known as Mount Tamalpais, in California.**

"Heyyyy that's where we live!" Hazel said nudging Frank and Reyna's shoulders. 

All the Roman demigods groaned at the reminder of their side of the titan war and Jason spoke up, "that's where we fought Krios, right on mount Othrys." He paused and took a breathe "not very fun" he continued and all the other Roman demigods agree.

**The main pavilion was open to the night, ringed with black Greek columns and statues of the Titans. Torchlight glowed against the black marble floor. In the center of the room, an armored giant struggled under the weight of a swirling funnel cloud—Atlas, holding up the sky.**

Annabeth immediately started playing with her hair at the mention of holding the sky up, even though the gray color was fading, the memory was still there. 

Percy noticed this and squeezed her hand gently, Annabeth would never admit this but she was glad she didn't have to go though that alone and could have someone to talk to about it.

**Two other giant men stood nearby over a bronze brazier, studying images in the flames. "Quite an explosion," one said. He wore black armor studded with silver dots like a starry night. His face was covered in a war helm with a ram's horn curling on either side. "It doesn't matter," the other said. This Titan was dressed in gold robes, with golden eyes like Kronos. His entire body glowed. He reminded me of Apollo, God of the Sun, except the Titan's light was harsher, and his expression crueler. "The gods have answered the challenge. Soon they will be destroyed." The images in the fire were hard to make out: storms, buildings crumbling, mortals screaming in terror. "I will go east to marshal our forces," the golden Titan said. "Krios, you shall remain and guard Mount Othrys."**

"That's so interesting..." Reyna said, her eyes glazed over and she was staring at nothing. 

"What's interesting?" Frank said and Reyna was pulled from her thoughts, "oh I just think it's odd how Percy dreamed of the titans we fought before he even knew who the Romans were, almost like foreshadowing but not" she said. 

**The ram horn dude grunted. "I always get the stupid jobs. Lord of the South. Lord of Constellations. Now I get to babysit Atlas while you have all the fun." Under the whirlwind of clouds, Atlas bellowed in agony, "Let me out, curse you! I am your greatest warrior. Take my burden so I may fight!"**

"He had his chance last year" Thalia grumbled and the others looked at her but her eyes were fixed on Zoë. "You fought Atlas?" Hercules said, glancing at Zoë slightly and when she glared back at him he looked away, blushing slightly. 

"No... well kinda, it was a group effort between me, Percy, Lady Artemis, Zoë, and Annabeth's dad." Thalia said and then everyone looked at her like she had grown a third head. 

Athena decided to speak up "Annabeth's father....?" she trailed off with a questioning tone. "Yeah it was awesome" Percy continued "he made Celestial Bronze bullets and after we were freed from holding the sky he came in on a plane and started shooting up Luke's army." Everyone looked at Annabeth in amazement and the whole room erupted in compliments.

"Woah, I need to meet your dad"

"YOu think he can make us some?

"SOO BADASS" (that one was Leo)

Athena smiled slightly but before she could say anything Artemis spoke up "Me and Zoë were present during all this?" she questioned, raising her eyebrows slightly and looking between Thalia and Zoë. 

Thalia winced slightly and Percy could tell she was fighting back tears so he spoke for her "yeah, Annabeth got captured and the hunters were on a quest to get her back" he took a wavering glance at Nico who was looking at the ground "....long story, but basically Annabeth was holding up the sky and you took the burden from her and then I took the burden from you and then you forced Atlas to take the weight of it again" A lot of people in the room had widened eyes, looking between Annabeth and Percy. 

"And Zoë was one of the demigods on that quest, she fought bravely and..." Percy trailed off, looking at Zoë, unable to lie to her but also unable to tell her the truth. They made eye contact and the realization hit her, she swallowed slowly and just smiled slightly. "I see.." she said "so that is why Thalia is the new lieutenant" Zoë said and Percy nodded. Before shutting himself up, he said one last thing "you saw the stars..." he trailed off but Zoë's eye's widened. A small tear formed on her cheek and everyone realized what Percy had meant by that, they all held a sad expression but she was the only one smiling. 

"Zoë...." Hercules trailed off but before he could get out another word and before Zoë could even react Percy cut him off "Shut up" he said, his hands fidgeting with Riptide. 

"You DON'T get to speak, not about this" everyone could tell this was a soft subject for Percy and judging by his tone, one he didn't want to bring up. So, Hercules did the smart thing, and shut up. 

_Maybe not all males are bad,_ Zoë thought, a soft smile still on her lips as she looked at Percy with gratitude in her eyes, she doesn't want to revisit the subject either. 

Artemis looked between her lieutenant and the son of the sea god, not sad about Zoë's fate, only proud of her. She motioned for Rachel to continue reading. 

**"Quiet!" the golden Titan roared. "You had your chance, Atlas. You failed. Kronos likes you just where you are. As for you, Krios, do your duty."  
"And if you need more warriors?" Krios asked. "Our treacherous nephew in the tuxedo will not do you much good in a fight." The golden Titan laughed. "Don't worry about him. Besides, the gods can barely handle our first little challenge. They have no idea how many others we have in store.**

All the camp half-blood's eyes widened, excluding Leo and Piper. 

"So that's why you said Typhon was a trap..." Katie said and Percy nodded. The romans wanted to comment on this but assumed it would be brought up later, however, Hercules didn't get the memo and spoke up "YOU ALL FOUGHT TYPHON???" he said in complete and utter awe. 

His amazed expression was short lived when Travis clarified "well no, the god's fought him an-" he was cut off from a smack from Katie. "Heyyyy, what was that for" he said whining and rubbing his head. "Spoilers" was all she said and Hercules looked disappointed but not surprised. 

**Mark my words, in a few days' time, Olympus will be in ruins, and we will meet here again to celebrate the dawn of the Sixth Age!" The golden Titan erupted into flames and disappeared. "Oh, sure," Krios grumbled. "He gets to erupt into flames. I get to wear these stupid ram's horns." The scene shifted. Now I was outside the pavilion, hiding in the shadows of a Greek column. A boy stood next to me, eavesdropping on the Titans. He had dark silky hair, pale skin, and dark clothes—my friend Nico di Angelo, the son of Hades.**

"BACK THE FUCK UP!!" Octavian yelled, "DiAngelo is a greek!??" he said staring the son of Hades down. Nico help a bored look and Percy just spoke up "we talked about this in the beginning but clearly YOU weren't paying attention" he snapped, earning a few laughs from the demigods. "Thalia, Grover, Annabeth, the hunters, and I rescued him and..." Percy trailed off looking at Nico with a sad look. 

Nico knew Percy still blamed himself for what happened to Bianca but he didn't blame Percy anymore, "my sister, Bianca, from a Manticore and he brought us back to camp" Nico finished for him. They both held eye contact for a minute and dropped the subject, but Octavian wouldn't let them. "You have a sister, er-" he glanced at Hazel "another sister?" 

Everyone who knew what had happened to Bianca DiAngelo glared daggers at Octavian who didn't seem to notice the son of Hades's saddened expression. "yeah-" Nico's voice was horse and scratchy, "she died," was all he said. 

An O shape formed on Octavian's lips and he immediately regretted his words. Octavian wasn't a greek sympathizer, however, he wasn't a monster. 

Hades shifted uncontrollably in his seat, already knowing the news but still shaken by hearing the words. 

Percy grabbed Nico's hand and squeezed it while Rachel kept reading, completely unaware of the blush forming on his cheek.

**He looked straight at me, his expression grim. "You see, Percy?" he whispered. "You're running out of time. Do you really think you can beat them without my plan?"**

"IT WAS YOUR PLAN??" Annabeth yelled at Nico, breaking the sad tension in the air. "yeah...." was all he said. Annabeth clearly wasn't too happy but after looking at her boyfriend, who was alive and healthy, she said foreign words "thank you." Nico was surprised but he smirked at her "for...?" he said. Annabeth only glared at Nico and didn't respond.

 _Worth a shot,_ he thought.

**His words washed over me as cold as the ocean floor, and my dreams went black. "Percy?" a deep voice said. My head felt like it had been microwaved in aluminum foil. I opened my eyes and saw a large shadowy figure looming over me. "Beckendorf?" I asked hopefully. "No, brother." My eyes refocused. I was looking at a Cyclops—a misshapen face, ratty brown hair, one big brown eye full of concern.**

"I miss that Cyclops." Annabeth said, surprising herself slightly, she never thought she would say those words. "Yeah Tyson's cool" Thalia said "we should visit him soon" Both Percy and Annabeth nodded, smiling. 

**"Tyson?" My brother broke into a toothy grin. "Yay! Your brain works!"**

"I'm not so sure" Thalia said, the other demigods agreeing with her, but Rachel laughed out loud.

**I wasn't so sure.**

Everyone in the throne room started laughing and Thalia only groaned, "why do I think like you" she said with a disgusted expression while looking at Percy.

"Love you too, Pinecone Face" he said making a heart shape with his hands at her. 

**My body felt weightless and cold. My voice sounded wrong. I could hear Tyson, but it was more like I was hearing vibrations inside my skull, not the regular sounds. I sat up, and a gossamer sheet floated away. I was on a bed made of silky woven kelp, in a room paneled with abalone shell. Glowing pearls the size of basketballs floated around the ceiling, providing light. I was under water. Now, being the son of Poseidon and all,**

"You know, you don't have to mention who your dad is every two minutes, we get the idea" Will said and Rachel agreed "honestly, it gets repetitive." 

"Noted" Percy said "i'll be sure to talk to whoever wrote this book about changing that, any other critiques I should mention" he said while making a small notebook and pen made out of water appear. There were a few snickers from the crowd, even the god's laughed a little. _That annoying ass sarcastic mother fucker,_ Rachel thought, but she kept reading and ignored him.

**I was okay with this. I can breathe underwater just fine, and my clothes don't even get wet unless I want them to. But it was still a bit of a shock when a hammerhead shark drifted through the bedroom window, regarded me, and then swam calmly out the opposite side of the room.**

"okay, that's just funny" Jason said "no birds come up to me like that" he said, a little disappointed. 

**"Where—"  
"Daddy's palace," Tyson said. Under different circumstances, I would've been excited. I'd never visited Poseidon's realm,**

"I'm sure I would be happy to have you visit some time" Poseidon said and Percy nodded "yeah you told me that once, but with the war going on...." trailed off and Rachel knew that was her cue.

**and I'd been dreaming about it for years. But my head hurt. My shirt was still speckled with burn marks from the explosion. My arm and leg wounds had healed—just being in the ocean can do that for me, given enough time—but I still felt like I'd been trampled by a Laistrygonian soccer team in cleats.**

_Weird ass thoughts_ , everyone thought to themselves, except Percy, who only agreed with the book.

**"How long—"  
** **"We found you last night," Tyson said, "sinking through the water."  
"The Princess Andromeda?"   
"Went ka-boom," Tyson confirmed. "Beckendorf was on board. Did you find . . ." Tyson's face darkened. "No sign of him. I am sorry, brother." I stared out the window into deep blue water. Beckendorf was supposed to go to college in the fall. He had a girlfriend, lots of friends, his whole life ahead of him. He couldn't be gone. Maybe he'd made it off the ship like I had. Maybe he'd jumped over the side . . . and what? He couldn't have survived a hundred-foot fall into the water like I could. He couldn't have put enough distance between himself and the explosion. I knew in my gut he was dead. He'd sacrificed himself to take out the Princess Andromeda, and I had abandoned him.**

Annabeth smacked Percy on the head "you. did. NOT. Abandon. him." she said, smacking him again with each word. He winced and just kissed her on the forehead, "yeah, I know, but still..." he said while rubbing his sore head. 

**I thought about my dream: the Titans discussing the explosion as if it didn't matter, Nico di Angelo warning me that I would never beat Kronos without following his plan—a dangerous idea I'd been avoiding for more than a year. A distant blast shook the room. Green light blazed outside, turning the whole sea as bright as noon. "What was that?" I asked. Tyson looked worried. "Daddy will explain. Come, he is blowing up monsters." The palace might have been the most amazing place I'd ever seen if it hadn't been in the process of getting destroyed.**

Poseidon smiled, but winced slightly at the thought of his kingdom in ruins. Sally, on the other hand, was smiling, excited to learn what the infamous Atlantis looked like. 

**We swam to the end of a long hallway and shot upward on a geyser. As we rose over the rooftops I caught my breath—well, if you can catch your breath underwater. The palace was as big as the city on Mount Olympus, with wide courtyards, gardens, and columned pavilions. The gardens were sculpted with coral colonies and glowing sea plants. Twenty or thirty buildings were made of abalone, white but gleaming with rainbow colors. Fish and octopi darted in and out of the windows. The paths were lined with glowing pearls like Christmas lights. The main courtyard was filled with warriors—mermen with fish tails from the waist down and human bodies from the waist up, except their skin was blue, which I'd never known before.**

Everyone in the room had their mouths wide open. Percy, Poseidon, Amphitrite, and Triton smiled, knowing already how beautiful it looked. 

"Percy" Sally said, smiling "next time, take a picture for me?" Percy nodded, glancing at Poseidon who nodded slightly. They were both thinking the same thing, _we should show her in person_.

**Some were tending the wounded. Some were sharpening spears and swords. One passed us, swimming in a hurry. His eyes were bright green, like that stuff they put in glow-sticks, and his teeth were shark teeth. They don't show you stuff like that in The Little Mermaid. Outside the main courtyard stood large fortifications—towers, walls, and anti-siege weapons—but most of these had been smashed to ruins. Others were blazing with a strange green light that I knew well—Greek fire, which can burn even underwater. Beyond this, the sea floor stretched into gloom. I could see battles raging—flashes of energy, explosions, the glint of armies clashing.**

"My poor kingdom" Poseidon said, a little sad at the descriptions in the book.

**A regular human would've found it too dark to see. Heck, a regular human would've been crushed by the pressure and frozen by the cold. Even my heat-sensitive eyes couldn't make out exactly what was going on. At the edge of the palace complex, a temple with a red coral roof exploded, sending fire and debris streaming in slow motion across the farthest gardens. Out of the darkness above, an enormous form appeared—a squid larger than any skyscraper. It was surrounded by a glittering cloud of dust—at least I thought it was dust, until I realized it was a swarm of mermen trying to attack the monster. The squid descended on the palace and swatted its tentacles, smashing a whole column of warriors. Then a brilliant arc of blue light shot from the rooftop of one of the tallest buildings. The light hit the giant squid, and the monster dissolved like food coloring in water. "Daddy," Tyson said, pointing to where the light had come from. "He did that?" I suddenly felt more hopeful. My dad had unbelievable powers. He was the god of the sea.**

"impressive, am i right????" Poseidon gloated and the other gods just scoffed.

**He could deal with this attack, right? Maybe he'd let me help. "Have you been in the fight?" I asked Tyson in awe. "Like bashing heads with your awesome Cyclops strength and stuff?" Tyson pouted, and immediately I knew I'd asked a bad question, "I have been . . . fixing weapons," he mumbled. "Come. Let's go find Daddy." I know this might sound weird to people with, like, regular parents, but I'd only seen my dad four or five times in my life, and never for more than a few minutes. The Greek gods don't exactly show up for their kids' basketball games.**

The gods looked around the room, uncomfortable by the stares they were getting from their children.

**Still, I thought I would recognize Poseidon on sight. I was wrong.**

"I'm assuming I looked pretty rough?" Poseidon asked Percy and all he got was a nod in response.

**The roof of the temple was a big open deck that had been set up as a command center. A mosaic on the floor showed an exact map of the palace grounds and the surrounding ocean, but the mosaic moved. Colored stone tiles representing different armies and sea monsters shifted around as the forces changed position. Buildings that collapsed in real life also collapsed in the picture. Standing around the mosaic, grimly studying the battle, was a strange assortment of warriors, but none of them looked like my dad. I was searching for a big guy with a good tan and a black beard, wearing Bermuda shorts and a Hawaiian shirt.**

Poseidon smiled at the description but a few of the gods and demigods laughed "Bermuda shorts?" Leo asked laughing at the god. As quickly as the laughing started, it eneded, the demigods shut up after seeing Poseidon's hard (and scary) look.

 _Just like Percy's,_ Nico thought.

**There was nobody like that. One guy was a merman with two fish tails instead of one. His skin was green, his armor studded with pearls. His black hair was tied in a ponytail, and he looked young—though it's hard to tell with non-humans.**

Triton smiled proudly at the mention of him.

**They could be a thousand years old or three. Standing next to him was an old man with a bushy white beard and gray hair. His battle armor seemed to weigh him down. He had green eyes and smile wrinkles around his eyes, but he wasn't smiling now.**

Poseidon sighed, _I must be losing_ , he thought

**He was studying the map and leaning on a large metal staff. To his right stood a beautiful woman in green armor with flowing black hair and strange little horns like crab claws.**

"Beautiful??" Amphitrite asked, "Perseus you're too kind" she smiled at the young demigod. She had started to like him, even if he was the product of her husband's affair, she chose to not blame Percy for that. Percy returned her comment with a half-hearted smile, _why couldn't she act like that before_ , he thought to himself.

**And there was a dolphin—just a regular dolphin, but it was staring at the map intently. "Delphin," the old man said. "Send Palaemon and his legion of sharks to the western front. We have to neutralize those leviathans." The dolphin spoke in a chattering voice, but I could understand it in my mind: Yes, lord! It sped away. I looked in dismay at Tyson, then back at the old man. It didn't seem possible, but . . . "Dad?" I asked. The old man looked up. I recognized the twinkle in his eyes, but his face . . . he looked like he'd aged forty years.**

"How sweet" Poseidon said, looking at his son who only shrugged.

" **Hello, Percy."**  
 **"What—what happened to you?"**

"Damn Perce, why are you so blunt?" Thalia asked earning a middle finger as a response.

**Tyson nudged me. He was shaking his head so hard I was afraid it would fall off, but Poseidon didn't look offended. "It's all right, Tyson," he said. "Percy, excuse my appearance. The war has been hard on me."  
** **"But you're immortal," I said quietly. "You can look . . . any way you want."**

"He reflects the state of his realm" Athena added but Rachel continued before anyone could respond, knowing that part is next.

**"I reflect the state of my realm," he said. "And right now that state is quite grim. Percy, I should introduce you—I'm afraid you just missed my lieutenant Delphin, God of the Dolphins. This is my, er, wife, Amphitrite. My dear—"**

"shit's about to get awkwardddddd" Travis added looking between Poseidon, Amphitrite, and Sally. 

Sally looked up at Poseidon, blushing slightly, and looking away as Poseidon smiled at her. Amphitrite wasn't so amused by this and hint of jealousy flashed across her face, but she chose not to dwell on it, she is Poseidon's WIFE after all.

**The lady in green armor stared at me coldly, then crossed her arms and said, "Excuse me, my lord. I am needed in the battle." She swam away.**

"How rude" Katie mumbled to herself and all the demigods were thinking it, but too afraid to speak up.

**I felt pretty awkward, but I guess I couldn't blame her. I'd never thought about it much, but my dad had an immortal wife. All his romances with mortals, including with my mom . . . well, Amphitrite probably didn't like that much.**

"No...she does not" Amphitrite said, referring to herself in the third person. Sally looked at the floor, guilty, but Paul grabbed her hand and pulled her in closer. 

"You can't blame my mom for your cheating husband, not like she knew he was a god when she met him." Percy said, not caring about insulting his father or speaking back to Amphitrite. the sea god and his wife were both caught off guard and looked away sheepishly, knowing Percy had a point, they chose not to respond. 

**Poseidon cleared his throat. "Yes, well . . . and this is my son Triton. Er, my other son."  
** **"Your son and heir," the green dude corrected. His double fish tails swished back and forth. He smiled at me, but there was no friendliness in his eyes. "Hello, Perseus Jackson. Come to help at last?" He acted like I was late or lazy.**

"Okay, okay, sorry on behalf of my future self" Triton said, bowing his head down and Percy smiled.

"No worries, T" he responded and Triton stifled a laugh, _T?_ he thought, _interesting nickname._

**If you can blush underwater, I probably did. "Tell me what to do," I said. Triton smiled like that was a cute suggestion—like I was a slightly amusing dog that had barked for him or something. He turned to Poseidon. "I will see to the front line, Father. Don't worry. I will not fail." He nodded politely to Tyson. How come I didn't get that much respect?**

"Cause he's a cyclops, you're the product of a mortal" Annabeth said and Percy rolled his eyes "yeah, I know that nowww" he said, stretching out the w in 'now'

**Then he shot off into the water. Poseidon sighed. He raised his staff, and it changed into his regular weapon—a huge three-pointed trident. The tip glowed with blue light, and the water around it boiled with energy. "I'm sorry about that," he told me. A huge sea serpent appeared from above us and spiraled down toward the roof. It was bright orange with a fanged mouth big enough to swallow a gymnasium. Hardly looking up, Poseidon pointed his trident at the beast and zapped it with blue energy. Ka-boom! The monster burst into a million goldfish, which all swam off in terror. "My family is anxious," Poseidon continued as if nothing had happened. "The battle against Oceanus is going poorly." He pointed to the edge of the mosaic. With the butt of his trident he tapped the image of a merman larger than the rest, with the horns of a bull. He appeared to be riding a chariot pulled by crawfish, and instead of a sword he wielded a live serpent. "Oceanus," I said, trying to remember. "The Titan of the sea?" Poseidon nodded. "He was neutral in the first war of gods and Titans. But Kronos has convinced him to fight. This is . . . well, it's not a good sign. Oceanus would not commit unless he was sure he could pick the winning side."**

"well look at us now" Connor said while fist bumping his two other brothers. "Guess he chose wrong" Chris said, returning his half-brothers fist bump.

**"He looks stupid," I said, trying to sound upbeat. "I mean, who fights with a snake?"**

"yeah, Percy, I'm sure that made him feel better" Rachel said while laughing. 

She was the third person that day to be met with a wall of water splashed on her.

**"Daddy will tie it in knots," Tyson said firmly. Poseidon smiled, but he looked weary. "I appreciate your faith. We have been at war almost a year now. My powers are taxed. And still he finds new forces to throw at me—sea monsters so ancient I had forgotten about them."**

"Downside to being immortal..." Ares said "you can't remember shit" he continued and the other god's mumbled in agreement. 

**I heard an explosion in the distance. About half a mile away, a mountain of coral disintegrated under the weight of two giant creatures. I could dimly make out their shapes. One was a lobster. The other was a giant humanoid like a Cyclops, but he was surrounded by a flurry of limbs. At first I thought he wearing a bunch of giant octopi. Then I realized they were his own arms—a hundred flailing, fighting arms**

"Briares!!" Annabeth said, "I miss him" she had a sad smile on her face. 

"You all met a hundred handed one? Aren't they extinct?" said Reyna. Percy nodded at her "yeah we saved him from the labyrinth 2 summers ago." Theseus looked up at the mention of that place, and he shivered "bad memories" he said and Percy, Annabeth, Grover, and Rachel all nodded. 

**. "Briares!" I said. I was happy to see him, but he looked like he was fighting for his life. He was the last of his kind—a Hundred-Handed One, cousin of the Cyclopes. We'd saved him from Kronos's prison last summer, and I knew he'd come to help Poseidon, but I hadn't heard of him since. "He fights well," Poseidon said. "I wish we had a whole army like him, but he is the only one." I watched as Briares bellowed in rage and picked up the lobster, which thrashed and snapped its pincers. He threw it off the coral mountain, and the lobster disappeared into the darkness. Briares swam after it, his hundred arms spinning like the blades of a motorboat. "Percy, we may not have much time," my dad said. "Tell me of your mission. Did you see Kronos?" I told him everything, though my voice choked up when I explained about Beckendorf. I looked down at the courtyards below and saw hundreds of wounded mermen lying on makeshift cots. I saw rows of coral mounds that must've been hastily made graves. I realized Beckendorf wasn't the first death. He was only one of hundreds, maybe thousands. I'd never felt so angry and helpless.**

"We all felt that way" Clarisse said, thinking about how she couldn't save Silena. 

**Poseidon stroked his beard. "Percy, Beckendorf chose a heroic death. You bear no blame for that. Kronos's army will be in disarray. Many were destroyed."  
** **"But we didn't kill him, did we?"**

"Percy, you can't kill a-" Nico started to say but was immediately cut off my Percy waving his hand at him "yeah, I know, I know, you don't have to keep reminding me" 

**As I said it, I knew it was a naive hope. We might blow up his ship and disintegrate his monsters, but a Titan lord wouldn't be so easy to kill. "No," Poseidon admitted. "But you've bought our side some time."  
"There were demigods on that ship," I said, thinking of the kid I'd seen in the stairwell. Somehow I'd allowed myself to concentrate on the monsters and Kronos. I'd convinced myself that destroying their ship was all right because they were evil, they were sailing to attack my city, and besides, they couldn't really be permanently killed. Monsters just vaporized and re-formed eventually. But demigods . . .**

Some of the demigods in the room looked down sadly, reminded of all the deaths they have had to see.

**Poseidon put his hand on my shoulder. "Percy, there were only a few demigod warriors aboard that ship, and they all chose to battle for Kronos. Perhaps some heeded your warning and escaped. If they did not . . . they chose their path."  
"They were brainwashed!" I said. "Now they're dead and Kronos is still alive. That's supposed to make me feel better?" I glared at the mosaic—little tile explosions destroying tile monsters. It seemed so easy when it was just a picture. Tyson put his arm around me. If anybody else had tried that, I would've pushed him away, but Tyson was too big and stubborn. He hugged me whether I wanted it or not. "Not your fault, brother. Kronos does not explode good. Next time we will use a big stick."**

"O. My. God." Thalia said "a big stick..how could we not have thought about this before," everyone in the room laughed but Rachel was starting to get annoyed with all the unimportant interruptions so she kept reading and everyone quieted down.

**"Percy," my father said. "Beckendorf's sacrifice wasn't in vain. You have scattered the invasion force. New York will be safe for a time, which frees the other Olympians to deal with the bigger threat."  
"The bigger threat?" I thought about what the golden Titan had said in my dream: The gods have answered the challenge. Soon they will be destroyed. A shadow passed over my father's face. "You've had enough sorrow for one day. Ask Chiron when you return to camp."   
"Return to camp? But you're in trouble here. I want to help!"  
"You can't, Percy. Your job is elsewhere." I couldn't believe I was hearing this. I looked at Tyson for backup. My brother chewed his lip. "Daddy . . . Percy can fight with a sword. He is good."   
"I know that," Poseidon said gently. "Dad, I can help," I said. "I know I can. You're not going to hold out here much longer."**

"thank you for your belief in me" Poseidon said and a few demigods laughed, but not at what Poseidon said. "like father like son" Travis said while the rest of the campers laughed. 

"hmmm" Percy and Poseidon both said with raised eyebrows. They looked at each other and blinked a few times "the sarcasm" Annabeth stated through her laughter and Sally smiled at the two knowing full well how similar they really are. 

**A fireball launched into the sky from behind the enemy lines. I thought Poseidon would deflect it or something, but it landed on the outer corner of the yard and exploded, sending mermen tumbling through the water. Poseidon winced as if he'd just been stabbed. "Return to camp," he insisted. "And tell Chiron it is time." "For what?"  
"You must hear the prophecy. The entire prophecy." **

Percy shivered at the thought, "I hated that prophecy, so misleading" he said.

**I didn't need to ask him which prophecy. I'd been hearing about the "Great Prophecy" for years, but nobody would ever tell me the whole thing. All I knew was that I was supposed to make a decision that would decide the fate of the world—but no pressure. "What if this is the decision?" I said. "Staying here to fight, or leaving? What if I leave and you . . ." I couldn't say die. Gods weren't supposed to die, but I'd seen it happen.**

"Seen who?" Hazel asked and Percy responded "in the labyrinth, we saw the god Pan fade away." Hazel nodded, sighing and thinking to herself, _what hasn't he done._

"My son.." Hermes said, saddened by the news but knew it was inevitable. Grover also looked sad but he had already had time to make peace with the news of Pan's death.

**Even if they didn't die, they could be reduced to nearly nothing, exiled, imprisoned in the depths of Tartarus like Kronos had been. "Percy, you must go," Poseidon insisted. "I don't know what your final decision will be, but your fight lies in the world above. If nothing else, you must warn your friends at camp. Kronos knew your plans. You have a spy. We will hold here. We have no choice." Tyson gripped my hand desperately. "I will miss you, brother!" Watching us, our father seemed to age another ten years. "Tyson, you have work to do as well, my son. They need you in the armory." Tyson pouted some more. "I will go," he sniffled. He hugged me so hard he almost cracked my ribs. "Percy, be careful! Do not let monsters kill you dead!"**

"Nooooo, they'll kill him alive" Thalia said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. Nico looked up at her "you're talking to a book" he stated and she flicked him off "shut up, death breath" she said back and he did the mature thing any 14-year-old would do, and stuck his tongue out at her.

**I tried to nod confidently, but it was too much for the big guy. He sobbed and swam away toward the armory, where his cousins were fixing spears and swords. "You should let him fight," I told my father. "He hates being stuck in the armory. Can't you tell?" Poseidon shook his head. "It is bad enough I must send you into danger. Tyson is too young. I must protect him."  
"You should trust him," I said. "Not try to protect him." Poseidon's eyes flared. I thought I'd gone too far, but then he looked down at the mosaic and his shoulders sagged. On the tiles, the mermaid guy in the crawfish chariot was coming closer to the palace. "Oceanus approaches," my father said. "I must meet him in battle." I'd never been scared for a god before, but I didn't see how my dad could face this Titan and win.**

"Again, love the faith in your own FATHER" Poseidon said, emphasizing the word father. Percy once again shrugged and said "hey, you looked like you would collapse from breathing too hard, you can't really blame me." crossing his arms over his chest.

The Roman demigod's had widened eyes, they knew Percy talked back to the gods, but not this much. They thought he had taken it too far but Poseidon let out out a deep laugh and tried to splash some water in his sons face. However, Percy, being his son and all, caught the water in the air before it hit him and splashed him right back. Poseidon was completely caught off guard, forgetting that his son could also control water, and the water hit him in the face, drenching his clothes. 

Some of the demigods laughed at the father and son, some looked sad, longing for their parent's to joke like that with them.

Ares spoke up while laughing "nice one" clearly approving of seeing his uncle soaking wet with a confused expression. 

Hermes also thought it was hilarious, so hilarious in fact, his staff turned into a camera and he took a picture "for Hephaestus TV" he said and the others laughed at him and nodded approvingly. Poseidon only grumbled in annoyance and dried himself up, accepting his defeat.

**"I will hold," Poseidon promised. "I will not give up my domain. Just tell me, Percy, do you still have the birthday gift I gave you last summer?"**

"Birthday gift?" Frank said, "you get a present and I get a life ending stick" he mumbled. Reyna seemed just as annoyed "seems like the gods have favorites...." she trailed off. The gods looked down and smiled at the kids "you can't blame us, it's our Roman side you need to talk with" Ares said, flickering between Mars and Ares.

**I nodded and pulled out my camp necklace. It had a bead for every summer I'd been at Camp HalfBlood, but since last year I'd also kept a sand dollar on the cord. My father had given it to me for my fifteenth birthday. He'd told me I would know when to "spend it," but so far I hadn't figured out what he meant. All I knew was that it didn't fit the vending machines in the school cafeteria.**

"Of course you would be the one to try it there" Annabeth said. Percy began to pout at her but she leaned in and kissed him. The demigods just grumbled, clearly used to this happening. 

Athena was staring with wide eyes at the sea spawn and her daughter and Poseidon and Sally only smiled at the couple and Aphrodite internally screamed, _ahhhh, young love_ , she thought

The demigods all knew Percy and Annabeth weren't stopping any time soon so they motioned for Rachel to continue. 

**"The time is coming," he promised. "With luck, I will see you for your birthday next week, and we will have a proper celebration." He smiled, and for a moment I saw the old light in his eyes. Then the entire sea grew dark in front of us, like an inky storm was rolling in. Thunder crackled, which should've been impossible underwater. A huge icy presence was approaching. I sensed a wave of fear roll through the armies below us. "I must assume my true godly form," Poseidon said. "Go—and good luck, my son." I wanted to encourage him, to hug him or something, but knew better than to stick around. When a god assumes his true form, the power is so great that any mortal looking on him will disintegrate. "Good-bye, Father," I managed. Then I turned away. I willed the ocean currents to aid me. Water swirled around me, and I shot toward the surface at speeds that would've caused any normal human to pop like a balloon. When I looked back, all I could see were flashes of green and blue as my father fought the Titan, and the sea itself was torn apart by the two armies.**

"there" Rachel said "all done, who's next?" she waved the book around and Reyna grabbed it. 

"I'll read" she said, opening to chapter 3 "chapter 3: I get a sneak peak at my death" 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll try and get the next one out as soon as possible but it's not the weekend anymore :(
> 
> BTW: I don't really go over and proofread all this so if there are spelling mistakes, my badddddd


	4. AUTHORS NOTE/ HELP

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> AUTHORS NOTE

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I HATE EVERYTHING

GUYS GUYS GUYS!!!

GUESS WHAT  
  
  


so i had just finished chapter 3 and was about to hit copy and save it just in case it got deleted.... and when I was about to press the fucking copy button my computer DIED...

THE WHOLE CHAPTER IS GONE!!!

so give me another day to finish it, I'm currently in tears

brb while I go cry and wish i were dead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IM GOING TO KMS   
> love you all thou :)


	5. chapter 3: i get a sneak peek at my death

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> reading chapter 3: i get a sneak peek at my death  
> Enjoy :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay.... here is take 2 of writing this chapter. Honestly I just want to get to the good stuff.   
> This is what I get for finishing my school work in time.   
> Whatever, it's my fault, I shoulda seen the low battery sign *tear*
> 
> also... idk if you guys could figure out by now but   
> italics = characters thoughts   
> bold = the book 
> 
> ANYWAYYYY.....  
> Enjoy :)

"there" Rachel said "all done, who's next?" she waved the book around and Reyna grabbed it. 

"I'll read" she said, opening to chapter 3 **"chapter 3: I get a sneak peak at my death"**

**If you want to be popular at Camp Half-Blood, don't come back from a mission with bad news. Word of my arrival spread as soon as I walked out of the ocean. Our beach is on the North Shore of Long Island, and it's enchanted so most people can't even see it. People don't just appear on the beach unless they're demigods or gods or really, really lost pizza delivery guys. (It's happened—but that's another story.)**

"Lemme guess" Piper said "Travis and Connor pulled a prank and it went wrong."   
"heyyy" The Stoll's responded in unison "what makes you think it went wrong" they pouted while looked at Piper and she rolled her eyes, "they always go wrong"  
"tell me about it" Katie grumbled, having been on the receiving end of their pranks on MULTIPLE occasions 

**Anyway, that afternoon the lookout on duty was Connor Stoll from the Hermes cabin. When he spotted me, he got so excited he fell out of his tree. Then he blew the conch horn to signal the camp and ran to greet me. Connor had a crooked smile that matched his crooked sense of humor. He's a pretty nice guy, but you should always keep one hand on your wallet when he's around, and do not, under any circumstances, give him access to shaving cream unless you want to find your sleeping bag full of it.**

"I'm touched" Connor said while placing a hand over his heart and pouting his lips so everyone could tell he was being sarcastic. "Yeah, no problem, C" Percy said back, his voice even more sarcastic than Connor's. 

**He's got curly brown hair and is a little shorter than his brother, Travis, which is the only way I can tell them apart. They are both so unlike my old enemy Luke it's hard to believe they're all sons of Hermes. "Percy!" he yelled. "What happened? Where's Beckendorf?" Then he saw my expression, and his smile melted. "Oh, no. Poor Silena. Holy Zeus, when she finds out . . ." Together we climbed the sand dunes. A few hundred yards away, people were already streaming toward us, smiling and excited. Percy's back, they were probably thinking. He's saved the day! Maybe he brought souvenirs!**

"Percy, I can 100% guarantee you no one was thinking that, and I wasn't even there" Jason said, "souvenirs woulda been nice, not gonna lie" Travis protested, earning a smack on the back of the head from Katie. 

**I stopped at the dining pavilion and waited for them. No sense rushing down there to tell them what a loser I was.**

It was Annabeth's turn to smack Percy upside the head, "heyyy" he said while rubbing the back of his neck, "what was that for?"  
"THAT, was for always blaming yourself for things that AREN'T your fault, we talked about this" Annabeth said, crossing her arms over her chest. "yeah, yeah" Percy grumbled, motioning for Reyna to continue.

**I gazed across the valley and tried to remember how Camp Half-Blood looked the first time I ever saw it. That seemed like a bajillion years ago. From the dining pavilion, you could see pretty much everything. Hills ringed the valley. On the tallest, Half-Blood Hill, Thalia's pine tree stood with the Golden Fleece hanging from its branches, magically protecting the camp from its enemies.**

Reyna stopped reading and asked "You have a pine tree named after you?"   
"Actually, I was the pine tree" Thalia responded, all the demigods who hadn't known what happened widened their eyes at her "excuse me what?" Leo said. "Long story short, I died and my dad" she said, motioning towards Zeus, "turned me into a pine tree that was a barrier for camp, but I got poisoned one day and Clarisse, Percy, Annabeth, and a few other campers went on a quest to get the Golden Fleece" Everyone nodded, they all knew about the magical Fleece, and it's ability to heal. Thalia was about to continue, but was rudely cut off by a slightly annoyed, slightly angry Clarisse. 

"ACTUALLY, Percy and Annie decided to crash the party" she grumbled, giving the two demigods a death stare. "Did we not save your ass?" Percy responded, raising his eyebrows at her but she slumped in her seat and rolled her eyes at him. She didn't respond, just because it was true doesn't mean she was willing to admit it.

Thalia, who was patiently waiting for them to shut up, started speaking again "anyway, blah blah blah, they got the Fleece and it did its magic a little too well and BOOM, I'm alive again" she finished, spreading her arms in a 'ta-da' motion. 

"well..." Reyna trailed off looking at some of her fellow demigods confused faces, "kinda confusing but let me just keep reading." Thalia looked like she was about to protest but decided to let it go, _it's not important anymore_ , she thought while leaning back in her seat.

**The guard dragon Peleus was so big now I could see him from here—curled around the tree trunk, lending up smoke signals as he snored. To my right spread the woods. To my left, the canoe lake glittered and the climbing wall glowed from the lava pouring down its side. Twelve cabins—one for each Olympian god—made a horseshoe pattern around the commons area. Farther south were the strawberry fields, the armory, and the four-story Big House with its sky blue paint job and its bronze eagle weathervane.**

"Your camp is so..." Hazel trailed off, not being able to find the right words but Annabeth finished her thought for her "camp like?"   
Hazel nodded "yeah, we like things simple" Annabeth responded. 

Reyna raised one eyebrow while looking down at the book, rereading that same section over again, s _o they organize their campers according to which god is their parent_ , she thought to herself. She had been so intrigued by the greeks ever since she found out they existed but quickly learned they were both the same....except, maybe, a less organized version.

**In some ways, the camp hadn't changed. But you couldn't see the war by looking at the buildings or the fields. You could see it in the faces of the demigods and satyrs and naiads coming up the hill. There weren't as many at camp as four summers ago. Some had left and never come back. Some had died fighting. Others—we tried not to talk about them—had gone over to the enemy. The ones who were still here were battle-hardened and weary. There was little laughter at camp these days. Even the Hermes cabin didn't play so many pranks. It's hard to enjoy practical jokes when your whole life feels like one. Chiron galloped into the pavilion first, which was easy for him since he's a white stallion from the waist down. His beard had grown wilder over the summer. He wore a green T-shirt that said MY OTHER CAR IS A CENTAUR and a bow slung over his back.**

"Well..." Hercules said, trying to imagine his former trainer dressed like that "...his style certainly changed"   
"yeah, he's more into dad jokes now" Travis said, Hercules had no clue what a 'dad joke' was but he didn't even bother asking. He just assumed it would only make him more confused.

**"Percy!" he said. "Thank the gods. But where . . ." Annabeth ran in right behind him, and I'll admit my heart did a little relay race in my chest when I saw her.**

"AWWWW" Piper and Aphrodite said at the same time, they made eye contact with each other and Piper immediately blushed and looked away. Meanwhile, Annabeth was smiling at what the book said, _glad he felt that way too,_ she thought to herself while scooting closer to Percy who had his arm draped over her shoulder.

**It's not that she tried to look good. We'd been doing so many combat missions lately, she hardly brushed her curly blond hair anymore, and she didn't care what clothes she was wearing—usually the same old orange camp T-shirt and jeans, and once in a while her bronze armor. Her eyes were stormy gray. Most of the time we couldn't get through a conversation without trying to strangle each other. Still, just seeing her made me feel fuzzy in the head. Last summer, before Luke had turned into Kronos and everything went sour, there had been a few times when I thought maybe . . . well, that we might get past the strangle-each-other phase.**

"took ya'll long enough" Katie said   
"we were beginning to lose hope after you went to rescue her and you guys STILL weren't together" Clarisse said but everyone gave her a strange look. "who knew Clarisse could be so invested in a relationship" Connor snorted but Clarisse raised her eyebrows at him "don't you have a Percabeth shri-" she began to say but was silenced with the son of Hermes's hand covering her mouth. Everyone in the room gave Connor a once over, concern in their eyes, but Percy and Annabeth only looked confused and even a little flattered.  
"Reyna... Keep....Reading" he struggled to let the worlds out as he dodged Clarisse's fists aiming for his head while her mouth was still covered, but once Reyna started he let go, running back to where his brother was sitting.

**"What happened?" She grabbed my arm. "Is Luke—"  
"The ship blew up," I said. "He wasn't destroyed. I don't know where—" Silena Beauregard pushed through the crowd. Her hair wasn't combed and she wasn't even wearing makeup, which wasn't like her. "Where's Charlie?" she demanded, looking around like he might be hiding. I glanced at Chiron helplessly. The old centaur cleared his throat. "Silena, my dear, let's talk about this at the Big House—"  
"No," she muttered. "No. No." She started to cry, and the rest of us stood around, too stunned to speak. We'd already lost so many people over the summer, but this was the worst. With Beckendorf gone, it felt like someone had stolen the anchor for the entire camp.**

"That's how it feels with you away, Perce" Grover said and the other demigods who went to camp half-blood nodded.

**Finally Clarisse from the Ares cabin came forward. She put her arm around Silena. They had one of the strangest friendships ever—a daughter of the war god and a daughter of the love goddess—but ever since Silena had given Clarisse advice last summer about her first boyfriend, Clarisse had decided she was Silena's personal bodyguard.**

_I couldn't protect her though,_ Clarisse thought to herself, a small tear appeared on her cheek and she quickly wiped it away, not letting anyone see. Silena and her had been close, too close, and when she died Clarisse lost a part of herself but having Chris around made her life a little brighter and that was all thanks to the daughter of Aphrodite.

**Clarisse was dressed in her bloodred combat armor, her brown hair tucked into a bandana. She was as big and beefy as a rugby player, with a permanent scowl on her face, but she spoke gently to Silena.**

Reyna glanced nervously at Clarisse when she read the 'big and beefy' part but she seemed too caught up in her thoughts to notice, but Reyna read a little faster in case her ears decided to turn on in that exact moment.

**"Come on, girl," she said. "Let's get to the Big House. I'll make you some hot chocolate." Everyone turned and wandered off in twos and threes, heading back to the cabins. Nobody was excited to see me now. Nobody wanted to hear about the blown-up ship. Only Annabeth and Chiron stayed behind. Annabeth wiped a tear from her cheek. "I'm glad you're not dead, Seaweed Brain."  
"Thanks," I said. "Me too." Chiron put a hand on my shoulder. "I'm sure you did everything you could, Percy. Will you tell us what happened?" I didn't want to go through it again, but I told them the story, including my dream about the Titans. I left out the detail about Nico. Nico had made me promise not to tell anybody about his plan until I made up my mind, and the plan was so scary I didn't mind keeping it a secret.**

"it must be a scary ass plan if YOU think it's scary" Thalia said at Percy who only nodded "o trust me" said while shaking his head and looking at Nico, "it was"

**Chiron gazed down at the valley. "We must call a war council immediately, to discuss this spy, and other matters."  
"Poseidon mentioned another threat," I said. "Something even bigger than the Princess Andromeda. I thought it might be that challenge the Titan had mentioned in my dream." Chiron and Annabeth exchanged looks, like they knew something I didn't. I hated when they did that.**

"Tell me about it" Grover grumbled, having been in Percy's position before. 

**"We will discuss that also," Chiron promised. "One more thing." I took a deep breath. "When I talked to my father, he said to tell you it's time. I need to know the full prophecy." Chiron's shoulders sagged, but he didn't look surprised. "I've dreaded this day. Very well. Annabeth, we will show Percy the truth—all of it. Let's go to the attic."**

"The attic?" Jason asked, he hadn't been at camp half-blood long, but long enough to know Rachel didn't stay in the attic. "I wasn't the Oracle yet, I didn't even become the Oracle until..." Rachel trailed off "well actually, until this book, so we'll probably get to read it" she said but Piper wasn't satisfied. "But why is your former Oracle in the attic?" She waited for a good response but all Rachel did was say "because she's dead" and then made a motion across her lips as if she was zipping them shut and throwing away the imaginary key, not wanting to spoil anything. 

**I’d been to the Big House attic three times before, which was three times more than I wanted to. A ladder led up from the top of the staircase. I wondered how Chiron was going to get up there, being half horse and all, but he didn't try. "You know where it is," he told Annabeth. "Bring it down, please." Annabeth nodded. "Come on, Percy." The sun was setting outside, so the attic was even darker and creepier than usual. Old hero trophies were slacked everywhere—dented shields, pickled heads in jars from various monsters, a pair of fuzzy dice on a bronze plaque that read: STOLEN FROM CHRYSAOR'S HONDA CIVIC, BY GUS, SON OF HERMES, 1988.**

"That guy is a legend in our cabin" Travis said in awe and both his brothers nodded, wanting to hear more.

**I picked up a curved bronze sword so badly bent it looked like the letter M. I could still see green stains on the metal from the magical poison that used to cover it. The tag was dated last summer. It read:Scimitar of Kampê, destroyed in the Battle of the Labyrinth.**

"you all fought Kampê?" Zeus said, a little surprised that these demigods could defeat his former enemy. "We tried to fight her, emphasis on the tried, it was really Briares and Grover who did all the work" Percy said clapping Grover on the shoulder. The poor goat bleated and blushed out of embarrassment, he wasn't used to praise, more like constant critiques from the former Council of Cloven Elders.

**"You remember Briares throwing those boulders?" I asked. Annabeth gave me a grudging smile. "And Grover causing a Panic?" We locked eyes. I thought of a different time last summer, under Mount St. Helens, when Annabeth thought I was going to die and she kissed me. She cleared her throat and looked away.**

"I was thinking about how you had food in your teeth" Annabeth said and everyone in the room laughed "and you didn't tell meeee?" Percy whined, he gave her the lost-baby-seal look that she had just now learned to say no too. "I'm just kidding" she responded squeezing him a little closer, but as soon as he looked away she moved her head side to side argressirly in a 'no' motion at all the demigods, who tried hiding their smiles and laughs behind their hands.

**"Prophecy."  
"Right." I put down the scimitar. "Prophecy." We walked over to the window. On a three-legged stool sat the Oracle—a shriveled female mummy with a tie-dyed dress. Tufts of black hair clung to her skull. Glassy eyes stared out of her leathery face. Just looking at her made my skin crawl. If you wanted to leave camp during the summer, it used to be you had to come up here to get a quest. This summer, that rule had been tossed. Campers left all the time on combat missions. We had no choice if we wanted to stop Kronos. Still, I remembered too well the strange green mist—the spirit of the Oracle—that lived inside the mummy. She looked lifeless now, but whenever she spoke a prophecy, she moved. Sometimes fog gushed out of her mouth and created strange shapes. Once, she'd even left the attic and taken a little zombie stroll into the woods to deliver a message.**

"the nightmares just stopped" Nico said, shivering in his seat a little at the memory of the green, decaying, MOVING mummy he once saw when he was 10. All the demigods shuddered at the thought, If Nico got nightmares from it then it must have been horrifying.

**I wasn't sure what she'd do for the "Great Prophecy." I half expected her to start tap dancing or something.**

"Percy, your thought are very weird" Hazel said laughing slightly at what the book said and everyone else nodded.

**But she just sat there like she was dead—which she was. "I never understood this," I whispered. "What?" Annabeth asked. "Why it's a mummy."  
"Percy, she didn't used to be a mummy. For thousands of years the spirit of the Oracle lived inside a beautiful maiden. The spirit would be passed on from generation to generation. Chiron told me she was like that fifty years ago." Annabeth pointed at the mummy. "But she was the last."  
"What happened?"**

Piper was sitting at the edge of her seat, waiting for her question to be answered.

**Annabeth started to say something, then apparently changed her mind.**

_you've got to be fucking kidding me_ , Piper thought to herself as she leaned back into the couch, slightly annoyed.

**"Let's just do our job and get out of here." I looked nervously at the Oracle's withered face. "So what now?" Annabeth approached the mummy and held out her palms. "O Oracle, the time is at hand. I ask for the Great Prophecy." I braced myself, but the mummy didn't move. Instead, Annabeth approached and unclasped one of its necklaces. I’d never paid too much attention to its jewelry before. I figured it was just hippie love beads and stuff. But when Annabeth turned toward me, she was holding a leather pouch—like a Native American medicine pouch on a cord braided with feathers. She opened the bag and took out a roll of parchment no bigger than her pinky. "No way," I said. "You mean all these years, I've been asking about this stupid prophecy, and it's been right there around her neck?"  
"The time wasn't right," Annabeth said. "Believe me, Percy, I read this when I was ten years old, and I still have nightmares about it."  
"Great," I said. "Can I read it now?"   
"Downstairs at the war council," Annabeth said. "Not in front of . . . you know." I looked at the glassy eyes of the Oracle, and I decided not to argue. We headed downstairs to join the others. I didn't know it then, but it would be the last time I ever visited the attic.**

"The foreshadowing here makes it seem like you die, Percy" Theseus pointed out and Sally caught her breath. Whenever anyone mentions the words Percy and die together her heart beats a million miles per hour.   
"It's kind of funny" Rachel said "because the reason you won't visit that attic is because your new and improved Oracle doesn't live there any more" she said putting her hands on her hips but Annabeth cleared her throat "don't you live in a cave?" she asked, earning a few muffled laughs from the demigods and Rachel's smile turned into a grimace "and what about it?" She said while sticking her tongue out. 

_Ah,_ Apollo thought _, my amazing new Oracle.... so.... refined_

**The senior counselors had gathered around the Ping-Pong table. Don't ask me why, but the rec room had become the camp's informal headquarters for war councils. When Annabeth, Chiron, and I came in, though, it looked more like a shouting match. Clarisse was still in full battle gear. Her electric spear was strapped to her back. (Actually, her second electric spear, since I'd broken the first one. She called the spear "Maimer." Behind her back, everybody else called it "Lamer.")**

"Yeah you all did a horrible job at hiding that from me" Clarisse grumbled.

**She had her boar-shaped helmet under one arm and a knife at her belt. She was in the midst of yelling at Michael Yew, the new head counselor for Apollo, which looked kind of funny since Clarisse was a foot taller. Michael had taken over the Apollo cabin after Lee Fletcher died in battle last summer. Michael stood four feet six, with another two feet of attitude. He reminded me of a ferret, with a pointy nose and scrunched-up features—either because he scowled so much or because he spent too much time looking down the shaft of an arrow. "It's our loot!" he yelled, standing on his tiptoes so he could get in Clarisse's face. "If you don't like it, you can kiss my quiver!" Around the table, people were trying not to laugh—the Stoll brothers, Pollux from the Dionysus cabin, Katie Gardner from Demeter. Even Jake Mason, the hastily appointed new counselor from Hephaestus, managed a faint smile. Only Silena Beauregard didn't pay any attention. She sat beside Clarisse and stared vacantly at the Ping-Pong net. Her eyes were red and puffy. A cup of hot chocolate sat untouched in front of her. It seemed unfair that she had to be here. I couldn't believe Clarisse and Michael standing over her, arguing about something as stupid as loot, when she'd just lost Beckendorf. "STOP IT!" I yelled. "What are you guys doing?" Clarisse glowered at me. "Tell Michael not to be a selfish jerk."  
** **"Oh, that's perfect, coming from you," Michael said. "The only reason I'm here is to support Silena!" Clarisse shouted. "Otherwise I'd be back in my cabin."  
"What are you talking about?" I demanded. Pollux cleared his throat. "Clarisse has refused to speak to any of us, until her, um, issue is resolved. She hasn't spoken for three days."  
"It's been wonderful," Travis Stoll said wistfully.**

A few of the demigods laughed at what Travis said but upon seeing the glare Clarisse was giving them, they shut their mouthes as quickly as they opened them.

**"What issue?" I asked. Clarisse turned to Chiron. "You're in charge, right? Does my cabin get what we want or not?" Chiron shuffled his hooves. "My dear, as I've already explained, Michael is correct. Apollo's cabin has the best claim. Besides, we have more important matters—"  
"Sure," Clarisse snapped. "Always more important matters than what Ares needs. We're just supposed to show up and fight when you need us, and not complain!"   
"That would be nice," Connor Stoll muttered. Clarisse gripped her knife. "Maybe I should ask Mr. D—"   
** **"As you know," Chiron interrupted, his tone slightly angry now, "our director, Dionysus, is busy with the war.**

"Yo-your camp director is Lord Dionysus" Reyna said, _why did it seem like the greeks got special treatment,_ she thought to herself. "yeah" Annabeth responded "but he doesn't really do much directing"   
"only drinking and gambling" Percy mumbled quietly, however, he was loud enough for Mr.D to hear. "What was that, Perry Johnson?" He said, not taking his eyes off the magazine he was reading that read 'how to beat a centaur at Pinnacle.'  
"I was just telling them how much of a great director you are, always looking out for your campers" Percy said giving the god of wine a lopsided smile that read 'i'm being sarcastic, bitch.' But Dionysus was too busy not paying attention that he didn't seem to notice.  


**He can't be bothered with this." "I see," Clarisse said. "And the senior counselors? Are any of you going to side with me?" Nobody was smiling now. None of them met Clarisse's eyes. "Fine." Clarisse turned to Silena. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get into this when you've just lost . . . Anyway, I apologize. To you. Nobody else." Silena didn't seem to register her words. Clarisse threw her knife on the Ping-Pong table. "All of you can fight this war without Ares. Until I get satisfaction, no one in my cabin is lifting a finger to help. Have fun dying."**

Everyone in the throne room looked stunned and Clarisse blushed "I know I was acting stupidly" she admitted "but I was pissed and just wai-" she was cut off by a hand covering her mouth, and Annabeth mouthing the word 'spoiler' to her. Clarisse nodded her head a little annoyed, _damn, why does everyone have a kink for slapping me across the mouth_ , she thought to herself while rubbing her jaw. 

Everyone in the room was still confused, how could a daughter of the war god not want to engage in war, over a silly reason like that? but they didn't want to get Clarisse angry again so Reyna continued.

**The counselors were all too stunned to say anything as Clarisse stormed out of the room. Finally Michael Yew said, "Good riddance."  
"Are you kidding?" Katie Gardner protested. "This is a disaster!"   
"She can't be serious," Travis said. "Can she?" Chiron sighed. "Her pride has been wounded. She'll calm down eventually." But he didn't sound convinced. I wanted to ask what the heck Clarisse was so mad about, but I looked at Annabeth and she mouthed the words I'll tell you later. "Now," Chiron continued, "if you please, counselors. Percy has brought something I think you should hear. Percy—the Great Prophecy." Annabeth handed me the parchment. It felt dry and old, and my fingers fumbled with the string. I uncurled the paper, trying not to rip it, and began to read: "A half-blood of the eldest dogs . . ."**

Zeus raised his eyebrow at the word dogs, _was the sea spawn trying to call us mut's_ , he thought.  
"Really, Percy, even with your dyslexia you shoulda assumed it was gods" Leo said, laughing a little at the thought of the 12 Olympians being tiny little puppy's, running around and chasing their tails.

 _Oh_ , Zeus thought, _he just read it wrong,_ his former thoughts being tossed aside.

**"Er, Percy?" Annabeth interrupted. "That's gods. Not dogs."  
"Oh, right," I said. Being dyslexic is one mark of a demigod, but sometimes I really hate it. The more nervous I am, the worse my reading gets. "A half~blood of the eldest gods . . . shall reach sixteen against all odds . . ." I hesitated, staring at the next lines. A cold feeling started m my fingers as if the paper was freezing. "And see the world in endless sleep, The hero's soul, cursed blade shall reap." Suddenly Riptide seemed heavier in my pocket. A cursed blade? Chiron once told me Riptide had brought many people sorrow. Was it possible my own sword could get me killed? And how could the world fall into endless sleep, unless that meant death? "Percy," Chiron urged. "Read the rest." My mouth felt like it was full of sand, but I spoke the last two lines. "A single choice shall. . . shall end his days.**

At that line both Sally and Poseidon paled, _end his days???_ they thought. 

**Olympus to per—pursue—"  
"Preserve," Annabeth said gently. "It means to save."  
"I know what it means," I grumbled. "Olympus to preserve or raze." The room was silent. Finally Connor Stoll said, "Raise is good, isn't it?"   
"Not raise," Silena said. Her voice was hollow, but I was startled to hear her speak at all. "R-a-z-e means destroy."   
"Obliterate," Annabeth said. "Annihilate. Turn to rubble."**

"Way to be blunt, Annie" Thalia said "just trying to make sure they understood" Annabeth responded her voice full of pride "and stop calling me Annie" she whined but the former pine tree rolled her eyes at her "not a chance, Annie."

**"Got it." My heart felt like lead. "Thanks." Everybody was looking at me—with concern, or pity, or maybe a little fear. Chiron closed his eyes as if he were saying a prayer. In horse form, his head almost brushed the lights in the rec room. "You see now, Percy, why we thought it best not to tell you the whole prophecy. You've had enough on your shoulders—"  
"Without realizing I was going to die in the end anyway?" I said. "Yeah, I get it." Chiron gazed at me sadly. The guy was three thousand years old. He'd seen hundreds of heroes die. He might not like it, but he was used to it. He probably knew better than to try to reassure me. "Percy," Annabeth said. "You know prophecies always have double meanings. It might not literally mean you die."**

"well you're alive now, so that means Annabeth was probably right" Perseus said and the other nodded but a few of the demigods were still confused, _how could the phrase 'end his days' have a double meaning_ , they thought.

**"Sure," I said. "A single choice shall end his days. That has tons of meanings, right?"  
"Maybe we can stop it," Jake Mason offered. "The hero's soul, cursed blade shall reap. Maybe we could find this cursed blade and destroy it. Sounds like Kronos's scythe, right?" I hadn't thought about that, but it didn't matter if the cursed blade was Riptide or Kronos's scythe. Either way, I doubted we could stop the prophecy. A blade was supposed to reap my soul. As a general rule, I preferred not to have my soul reaped.**

"I can't think of a single person who would" Thalia said "would you want to have your soul reaped?" she said, looking at Connor who shook his head. "Would you?" she said again, this time pointing at the son of Hades who shrugged "doesn't sound too bad" he responded and the room went silent. _Of course the son of the god of the underworld wouldn't mind the idea of death,_ they all thought.

**"Perhaps we should let Percy think about these lines," Chiron said. "He needs time—"  
"No." I folded up the prophecy and shoved it into my pocket. I felt defiant and angry, though I wasn't sure who I was angry with. "I don't need time. If I die, I die. I can't worry about that, right?"**

"Percyyyy" Sally Jackson said her voice filled with worry but Percy smiled at her "I'm still here, aren't I?" He responded and his mom only rolled her eyes at him, but she seemed to relax a little.

**Annabeth's hands were shaking a little. She wouldn't meet my eyes. "Let's move on," I said. "We've got other problems. We've got a spy." Michael Yew scowled. "A spy?" I told them what had happened on the Princess Andromeda—how Kronos had known we were coming, how he'd shown me the silver scythe pendant he'd used to communicate with someone at camp. Silena started to cry again, and Annabeth put an arm around her shoulders.**

_That poor, stupid, girl,_ Clarisse thought, wiping a small tear that appeared on her cheek, _she led her boyfriend to his own death without realizing it._

**"Well," Connor Stoll said uncomfortably, "we've suspected there might a spy for years, right? Somebody kept passing information to Luke—like the location of the Golden Fleece a couple of years ago. It must be somebody who knew him well." Maybe subconsciously, he glanced at Annabeth.**

"You. Thought. I. Was. The. Spy" Annabeth said, her hand on the hilt of her dagger, she would never use it, of course, but maybe scaring Connor will prevent any more spider-in-the-bed pranks from happening ever again. "No, I would never, Annabeth, common', you know I would- I, uh,..." he started to stutter more and more as the daughter of Athena's glare intensified. He looked at his brother for help but all he gave him was a 'you did this to yourself look.' Reyna, being the smart girl she is, chose to hurry and finish this part in order to prevent demigod world war 1 from occurring.

**She'd known Luke better than anyone, of course, but Connor looked away quickly. "Um, I mean, it could be anybody."  
"Yes." Katie Gardner frowned at the Stoll brothers. She'd disliked them ever since they'd decorated the grass roof of the Demeter cabin with chocolate Easter bunnies.**

"Now that was a good prank" Travis said, earning a smack on the back of the head from Katie.

**"Like one of Luke's siblings." Travis and Connor both started arguing with her. "Stop!" Silena banged the table so hard her hot chocolate spilled. "Charlie's dead and . . . and you're all arguing like little kids!" She put her head down and began to sob. Hot chocolate trickled off the Ping-Pong table. Everybody looked ashamed. "She's right," Pollux said at last. "Accusing each other doesn't help. We need to keep our eyes open for a silver necklace with a scythe charm. If Kronos had one, the spy probably does too." Michael Yew grunted. "We need to find this spy before we plan our next operation. Blowing up the Princess Andromeda won't stop Kronos forever."  
"No indeed," Chiron said. "In fact his next assault is already on the way." I scowled. "You mean the 'bigger threat' Poseidon mentioned?" He and Annabeth looked at each other like, It's time. Did I mention I hate it when they do that?**

"Yes" all the demigods said in unison.

**"Percy," Chiron said, "we didn't want to tell you until you returned to camp. You needed a break with your . . . mortal friends." Annabeth blushed. It dawned on me that she knew I'd been hanging out with Rachel, and I felt guilty. Then I felt angry that I felt guilty. I was allowed to have friends outside camp, right? It wasn't like . . .**

"ya'll were dating or anything????" Travis finished Percy's thought, wiggling his eyebrows at the couple who glared at him. Having Annabeth or Percy glare at you is bad enough, but both at the same time? The thought alone sent shivers down his spine and he shut himself up.

**"Tell me what's happened," I said. Chiron picked up a bronze goblet from the snack table. He tossed water onto the hot plate where we usually melted nacho cheese. Steam billowed up, making a rainbow in the fluorescent lights. Chiron fished a golden drachma out of his pouch, tossed it through the mist, and muttered, "O Iris, Goddess of the Rainbow, show us the threat." The mist shimmered.**

"Wait a second" Octavian said "why don't we get something like that" he grumbled and the other Roman demigods agreed, although, they all hated agreeing with Octavian, this time they agreed with him. None of the gods answered, they didn't really have a response. 

**I saw the familiar image of a smoldering volcano—Mount St. Helens. As I watched, the side of the mountain exploded. Fire, ash, and lava rolled out. A newscaster's voice was saying "—even larger than last year's eruption, and geologists warn that the mountain may not be done." I knew all about last year's eruption. I'd caused it.**

"YOU caused that explosion" Hazel said with wide eyes, remembering all the headlines about the erupting volcano. Percy smiled sheepishly "yeah, long story short, I made it explode... my bad, lol, but I ended up in Ogygia and everyone thought I had died" Some of the demigods looked at Percy in awe, "how did you manage to even do that" Theseus said his eyes bugging out of his head "well our father is the god of earthquakes after all, so I just put that power to use, I guess"   
"You GUESS?" Theseus retaliated, he wasn't jealous of his half brother, just impressed. It seems that everyone else in the room was too, even the gods, but Percy didn't want to go into it anymore so he motioned for Reyna to continue, who was just as shocked as the rest of them, but she obliged. 

**But this explosion was much worse. The mountain tore itself apart, collapsing inward, and an enormous form rose out of the smoke and lava like it was emerging from a manhole. I hoped the Mist would keep the humans from seeing it clearly, because what I saw would've caused panic and riots across the entire United States. The giant was bigger than anything I'd ever encountered. Even my demigod eyes couldn't make out its exact form through the ash and fire, but it was vaguely humanoid and so huge it could've used the Chrysler Building as a baseball bat. The mountain shook with a horrible rumbling, as if the monster were laughing. "It's him," I said. "Typhon."**

All the gods took a sharp breath in, they had all remembered their battle with Typhon once, and it was not a pretty one.

**I was seriously hoping Chiron would say something good, like No, that's our huge friend Leroy! He's going to help us!**

_He has some very weird thoughts,_ everyone thought to themselves, except Percy, who didn't think it was weird at all.

**But no such luck. He simply nodded. "The most horrible monster of all, the biggest single threat the gods ever faced. He has been freed from under the mountain at last. But this scene is from two days ago. Here is what is happening today." Chiron waved his hand and the image changed. I saw a bank of storm clouds rolling across the Midwest plains. Lightning flickered. Lines of tornadoes destroyed everything in their path—ripping up houses and trailers, tossing cars around like Matchbox toys. "Monumental floods," an announcer was saying. "Five states declared disaster areas as the freak storm system sweeps east, continuing its path of destruction." The cameras zoomed in on a column of storm bearing down on some Midwest city. I couldn't tell which one. Inside the storm I could see the giant—just small glimpses of his true form: a smoky arm, a dark clawed hand the size of a city block. His angry roar rolled across the plains like a nuclear blast. Other smaller forms darted through the clouds, circling the monster. I saw flashes of light, and I realized the giant was trying to swat them. I squinted and thought I saw a golden chariot flying into the blackness.**

"heyyy" Apollo said, flinging his arms around like a kid trying to get his parent's attention, "that's me" he smiled at the demigods who didn't return it.

**Then some kind of huge bird—a monstrous owl—dived in to attack the giant.**

Athena didn't speak up when she was mentioned, although the corner of her lips did turn up and there was a small smirk on her face.

 **"Are those . . . the gods?" I said. "Yes, Percy," Chiron said. "They have been fighting him for days now, trying to slow him down. But Typhon is marching forward—toward New York. Toward Olympus." I let that sink in. "How long until he gets here?"**  
"Unless the gods can stop him? Perhaps five days. Most of the Olympians are there . . . except your father, who has a war of his own to fight." "But then who's guarding Olympus?" Connor Stoll shook his head. "If Typhon gets to New York, it won't matter who's guarding Olympus." I thought about Kronos's words on the ship: I would love to see the terror in your eyes when you realize how I will destroy Olympus. Was this what he was talking about: an attack by Typhon? It was sure terrifying enough. But Kronos was always fooling us, misdirecting our attention. This seemed too obvious for him. And in my dream, the golden Titan had talked about several more challenges to come, as if Typhon were only the first. "It's a trick," I said. "We have to warn the gods. Something else is going to happen." Chiron looked at me gravely. "Something worse than Typhon? I hope not."   
"We have to defend Olympus," I insisted. "Kronos has another attack planned." "He did," Travis Stoll reminded me. "But you sunk his ship." Everyone was looking at me. They wanted some good news. They wanted to believe that at least I'd given them a little bit of hope. I glanced at Annabeth. I could tell we were thinking the same thing: What if the Princess Andromeda was a ploy? What if Kronos let us blow up that ship so we'd lower our guard?

"You know" Piper spoke up, "you're actually kinda smart" she stated while smiling at Percy who gave her a weak smile back. "thanks?" he said, not yet deciding if that was an insult of a compliment. 

**But I wasn't going to say that in front of Silena. Her boyfriend had sacrificed himself for that mission. "Maybe you're right," I said, though I didn't believe it. I tried to imagine how things could get much worse. The gods were in the Midwest fighting a huge monster that had almost defeated them once before. Poseidon was under siege and losing a war against the sea Titan Oceanus. Kronos was still out there somewhere. Olympus was virtually undefended. The demigods of Camp Half-Blood were on our own with a spy in our midst. Oh, and according to the ancient prophecy, I was going to die when I turned sixteen—which happened to be in five days, the exact same time Typhon was supposed to hit New York. Almost forgot that.**

"wow, Percy, so optimistic" Leo said, "you trying being in my position and being optimistic" Percy responded and Leo mumbled something along the lines of "shut the fuck up" under his breath

**"Well," Chiron said, "I think that's enough for one night." He waved his hand and the steam dissipated. The stormy battle of Typhon and the gods disappeared "That's an understatement," I muttered. And the war council adjourned**

"Okay" Reyna said while closing the book, "that's the end of the chapter, who's next?" she asked and Katie's hand went up "over here" she said. 

Reyna handed her the book and she opened to Chapter 4, **"chapter 4: we burn a metal shroud"**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good?Yes?No?  
> Also, sorry if I didn't do that much commentary in this chapter, after it got deleted I wanted to get it over with :(  
> #thisworldshallknowpain

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what ya'll think :)))))


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